Wrath of the Overlord
by Dark Acerbus
Summary: Metal Sonic has been Eggman's prisoner ever since the events of Sonic Heroes, but when he breaks out one and a half years later, all hell is about to break loose. When Sonic realises he can't handle the robot on his own, help comes from an unlikely source
1. Escape

There was nothing. No light, no sound, no external stimuli whatsoever. And yet consciousness remained. It was, presumably, his punishment; to have every sensor available to him shut off but allow his cognitive circuits to remain active. He was deaf, dumb, blind and without touch, but he could think. It was worse than death. It was enough to drive any living creature insane.

It was fortunate, then, that Metal Sonic was not a living creature. He was perhaps the most sophisticated machine on the planet, capable of matching the greatest warriors blow for blow and not give an inch, capable of thinking freely, capable of making his own decisions; but he was not alive. And right now, that was something he would be glad of, if he was capable of feeling happiness. He was not, but by some strange quirk, he was more than capable of feeling anger. And right now he felt it in abundance.

His hatred was almost all directed at his creator, Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, who was arguably the most intelligent human being to have ever lived. Unfortunately, his intellect was dwarfed by his massive ego, and this more often than not led to his downfall, and Metal Sonic was always dragged down with him. The advanced robot had grown tired of this, and had rebelled against his creator, and had almost succeeded where the rotund human had failed so many times; he had almost destroyed Sonic the Hedgehog. But he had been defeated in the end, as he always was, and had lapsed into his offline mode. And now, here he was, trapped in his own mind until the Doctor found a way to reprogram him.

But the rebellious robot had no intention of allowing that to happen. He had been gathering the last dregs of chaos energy he had left from his last battle with Sonic for months, perhaps years, and was almost ready to use Chaos Control and warp his way out of his prison. The ability was not his own; he had copied it from the ultimate lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog, during his Overlord phase. Eggman had been foolish enough to grant him the ability to copy other people's abilities, and had even given him free thought so he could make his own decisions during combat. The fat fool.

Metal Sonic had no real way of knowing if he'd charged enough, but he had had enough of waiting and decided to use the energy he'd gathered to attempt Chaos Control. If he hadn't gathered enough energy, he would rip himself apart, and if he had enough energy, he would be drained and go offline for at least a day. It would seem to be a lose-lose situation, but the plucky robot had other ideas. He was nothing if not cunning, and he had a plan to counter the effects of the energy drain and regain his true power at the same time. But for now, he had to focus every circuit of his metallic being into performing Chaos Control successfully.

He couldn't feel the energy welling up inside him, but he knew it was, and he willed it to surround him and pull him through the very fabric of space-time itself. If he had been able to see, he would have noticed a bright, greenish light surround the capsule he was imprisoned in, and begin to distort all the matter it touched. He would also have noticed alarms beginning to sound throughout the facility he was in, but he could neither see nor hear any of this, so it didn't matter to him. Without warning everything sunk in on itself at a frightening pace, and the next second, Metal Sonic was gone.

Mere seconds later, the large figure of Dr Eggman skidded into the small metal room, aghast at his prized captor's escape. His sizeable belly wobbled as he halted and his eyes were wide beneath his circular glasses, unable to believe what had just happened.

"What!!!" he bellowed to no-one in particular, his large auburn moustache twitching erratically as he spoke. "This is impossible! He was completely drained, I checked him myself!"

Turning, Eggman noticed two burly robots armed with four rather impressive laser cannons each, who were supposed to be guarding the prisoner. The huge man was smart enough not to destroy them for their failure; unlike Metal Sonic, they didn't have free will and had only reacted as he had programmed them to. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from berating them.

"You two!" he roared, "What happened here? Why didn't you stop him?"

"Sir, we have pre-programmed knowledge that once Chaos Control has begun, it cannot be prevented." One of the guards replied in a deep, monotonous tone.

"Argh! Irrelevant! Both of you, report to the control room and find him. I cannot risk his freedom until he has been reprogrammed, do you understand? Find Metal Sonic, and find him now!"

* * *

Knuckles the Echidna led a solemn existence. Alone on Angel Island, he guarded the Master Emerald all day and all night, and he would continue doing so as long as he lived. Right now, the crimson-furred echidna was lounging at the top of the Master Emerald's shrine, leaning against the huge gem with his eyes closed and his arms folded. The shrine sat in the centre of a clearing in a dense forest near the centre of Angel Island; the best place to keep the sacred gem hidden besides the Hidden Palace, which had been all but destroyed many years ago. The guardian was deep in concentration, despite outwardly looking like he was sleeping, listening intently for anyone or anything that might disturb the Master Emerald. It was because of this that he felt the intense wave of chaos energy emerging from above him before the blinding flash of Chaos Control appeared.

The echidna was on his feet in less than a second, fists raised to defend the Master Emerald. Only three people he knew about could use Chaos Control, and any of them could potentially spell trouble. Unfortunately, the one he feared most was the one who emerged and dropped onto the Master Emerald.

"Metal Sonic!" Knuckles shouted. "Get off the Master Emerald you overrated toaster, or I'll turn you into scrap!"

When the robot simply lay there, unmoving, Knuckles dropped his guard ever so slightly. The machine appeared to be offline; perhaps Chaos Control had completely drained him.

"Metal Sonic?" Knuckles said warily, moving closer. He had no idea what effect the Master Emerald would have on the power-mad robot, but he knew it wasn't one he would like.

Without warning, the robot's signature crimson eyes flashed to life, staring a hole through Knuckles, and his body twitched upwards to hover inches above the surface of the huge gem. The robot's arms rose to its sides as it began sparking with yellow energy drawn from the emerald. The energy surged into the robot's blue frame at an alarming speed, and the pulses it sporadically emitted threw the guardians' trademarked dreadlocks into a rushing frenzy. Knuckles could only watch in awe as Metal Sonic charged himself, completely eliminating the energy drain from Chaos Control as well as destroying the nano-inhibitors Eggman had used to block his senses.

"Wait..." Knuckles murmured, coming to his senses, "I have to stop him!" The echidna lunged forward and, knowing he wouldn't be able to touch Metal Sonic without harming himself, drove a fist directly into the Master Emerald, shattering the huge gem into countless pieces as he had done so many times before. Despite no longer having anything to stand on, Metal Sonic remained where he was, his body crackling with chaos energy. As Knuckles watched, the metal hedgehog's form liquidised and began to shift into something he found all too similar; what the robot had dubbed his Overlord form.

He now had five quills, all long and pointed and adorned with white stripes similar to Shadow's. His silver muzzle had two spikes attaching it to his face, and his forearms and shins had regained their blue and white armour. A black cloak attached at the waist fluttered out behind the chaotic robot as it turned in midair to face Knuckles. Unlike the last time he had used his Overlord form, Metal Sonic's feet didn't form into curled fairytale shoes. Instead, they remained largely unchanged aside from becoming slightly more pointed.

"You." Metal Sonic said, his deep voice resounding throughout the shrine clearing. "You were one of those responsible for my defeat. You assisted my doppelganger in his final battle against me."

"Yeah... but this time, I don't need him!" Knuckles shouted, charging forward and leaping at the robot, his fists poised to crush its metal skull. Metal Sonic didn't even bother trying to dodge; he simply caught the punch and held Knuckles aloft by his fist, raising him to eye level. Even the mighty Knuckles found himself trembling slightly as he stared into the deep crimson of the maniacal machine's eyes. He was powerless against the metallic hedgehog, and he knew it. Metal Sonic drew his arm back and launched Knuckles across the shrine clearing, and then immediately warped above the echidna in-flight and delivered a powerful punch to his gut, halting his flight, then followed up with a shuddering kick to his face, sending him crashing face-first into the steps of the emerald shrine. Knuckles was jarred from the impact, but he had endured far worse and made his way shakily to his feet. Although he knew it wasn't, it felt like his jaw was broken.

"You are not my prey today, echidna." Metal Sonic said, slowly descending to the top of the shrine until he touched down. "But you will tell me where Dr Eggman is."

Knuckles was shocked, but not entirely surprised by this. He knew that Metal Sonic would come for him as soon as he was done with Eggman, along with Sonic and the others. But, if he told the robot where he thought Eggman was, he could maybe buy some time to warn them. He made his decision.

"I'm not sure where he is now..." Knuckles said carefully while massaging his aching jaw, "But last I heard he had a base somewhere called White Acropolis."

"Searching... Location found." Metal Sonic said aloud, accessing his internal world map. "I will spare you today echidna, but do not expect me to forget about you. Your time will come, in due time."

Knuckles' stomach lurched at the certainty in Metal Sonic's voice, but he also felt some relief. He had bought himself some time to warn the others of the power-mad robot's return.

"However, your ordeal is not over yet." Metal Sonic continued, casually turning his head to survey his surroundings. "It would appear that your island is descending. Farewell, guardian." And with those words, he disappeared in another flash of chaos energy, leaving just as he had arrived. Knuckles looked around desperately, and saw that his island was indeed falling again.

"No!" he shouted. It took him mere moments to figure out what he had to do. This would have to be the quickest treasure hunt of his life. He wouldn't have been as worried if the island had been out at sea, but it was currently hovering above the Southern Federation. If it crashed now, the earthquakes would be devastating to everything even remotely close to the crash site and the island would likely be destroyed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...." Knuckles muttered as he scrambled over the shrine and the surrounding area, picking up every green shard he could find. Luckily, the pieces hadn't fallen far and they were relatively large, making his job slightly easier. By the time he had collected all the pieces, the island was mere seconds away from impact. It was as high off the ground as a small mountain, and falling fast.

The echidna placed all the pieces on the shrine and waited for the emerald to rebuild itself. Despite his stony demeanour, he found himself actually hopping from foot to foot in anxiousness. Without warning the island jarred to a halt, and Knuckles collapsed to the hard stone of the shrine and cracked his jaw again, thinking the land mass had impacted. Then he noticed the green light before him growing and brightening until he had to shield his eyes from its glare, forgetting his aching jaw as the light majestically formed itself into an emerald shape.

"Thank Chaos..." Knuckles gasped from the ground. He simply lay there while the island naturally rose back into the sky, but he couldn't help thinking of Metal Sonic and his regained power. With it, he was likely to come after all of them; everyone who had stood in his way when he tried to gain control of everything. And yet he hadn't killed Knuckles. The echidna couldn't help but find this strange; he had been defenceless against the robot's power, and yet it had spared him. Nonetheless, he had to tell Sonic and the others about what had happened.

* * *

The small village that inhabited the centre of the Emerald Hill zone was a peaceful one; its people went about their days full of rural cheer and everyone knew everyone else. But on this morning, the people were woken by a sound that would have confused anyone else in the world. But not them. They had heard this sound many, many times in the past, and expected to hear it far into the future. It was the sound of a sonic boom.

The source of this huge noise was darting and weaving through the stone-littered plains of South Island, not two miles from the small Emerald Village, and he was loving every minute of it. There was something about South Island that Sonic the Hedgehog found unforgettable, something that drew him back to it again and again despite the wonders the rest of the world had to offer. Perhaps it was the abundance of stony loops he could spin in, perhaps it was the luscious climate which allowed palm trees to grow but still let him run without sweating, or perhaps it was the cool blue of the sea visible from almost every part of the small island.

Although, it was more than likely because Sonic had spent most of his younger years on the island, getting to know its inhabitants and growing into the world-renowned hero he was today. Right now, the only reason he had come to South Island was to run in the emerald green grass which gave this particular zone its name, and whizz through the loops and crevices of the chequered cliffs. He was just navigating a particularly challenging cave, filled with stalagmites and stalactites formed due to the limestone-rich surface, when his wrist started mysteriously vibrating. Sonic looked at it in confusion for a moment before he realised what it was and darted towards a particularly tall stalagmite and sprinted up its side towards a small opening in the roof of the cave. He blasted from the small hole into the air, spun a few times, and landed gracefully on his red-shoed feet on the green grass. He pulled back the white cuff of his right glove to reveal a small watch with what appeared to be a tiny TV screen, and pressed a small switch on the side of the vibrating device.

"Tails?" he asked uncertainly, shaking his wrist around. "Is this thing working?"

"Sonic!" his small auburn furred friend replied. His face had appeared on the tiny screen of the watch and he looked somewhat disorientated. "You're making me feel weird Sonic, stop shaking around!"

"Oh... right," Sonic replied, scratching his ear, "Sorry 'bout that. So, what's up?"

"I just got a call from Knuckles, and won't believe what happened to him!"

"Pfft... can't be all that bad. Did 'ole snakehead lose his emerald again?"

"Don't joke around Sonic, this is serious!" Tails exclaimed desperately.

"Right-o 'lil buddy," Sonic replied, mock-saluting the fox. "What's really up?"

"Metal Sonic's back, and he nearly crashed Angel Island into the Southern Federation! Knuckles tried to fight him off but Metal Sonic beat him and absorbed some power from the Master Emerald, and now he's going after Eggman!" Tails said quickly.

Sonic's attitude changed almost instantly. Metal Sonic could do that to him. The robot was perhaps the deadliest foe he'd ever faced, able to match him, and sometimes outdo him, in every aspect; strength, speed, reflexes, everything. And after their last encounter, roughly a year and a half ago, Metal would be more deadly than ever. Without the direction of Eggman, the robot would be nothing more than a maniacal, revenge-driven killing machine. Yes, Sonic's attitude had changed.

"Where is he now?" Sonic asked, his tone perfectly serious.

"Knuckles told him Eggman is at White Acropolis to buy us some time to prepare, so that's where he'll be heading. Sonic, don't go after him yourself... please?"

"Sorry Tails, but Metal is my responsibility. He's my copy, so he's mine to beat. Just get the others and head to Angel Island; Eggman might try something, and Knuckles needs all the help he can get."

"I don't think he'd like you saying that, Sonic," Tails said with a tiny smile.

"Knucklehead doesn't like much, which is why he's so easy to wind up," Sonic said, grinning widely. His grin disappeared and he continued, "But still, get up there and help him out. I'm going after Metal."

"Sonic, I-" Tails started, but was cut off as Sonic took off the watch and dropped it to the ground. White Acropolis? From what Sonic could remember that was somewhere near Soleanna, and unfortunately, Soleanna was across the ocean from South Island. Sonic hated water, but for Metal, he'd brave it. He crouched very slightly, tensing himself, and then blasted off at a frightening pace. He reached the ocean within seconds, and a second sonic boom echoed throughout South Island. Sonic couldn't swim, but when you can run at the speed of sound you don't need to; the cerulean hedgehog shot out onto the calm sea, sprinting across its clear surface. His feet never touched the water long enough for him to sink.

As he ran, a thought occurred to him. Tails mentioned that Metal had absorbed some power from the Master emerald. It was only now, out on the ocean, that Sonic realised that that meant he may not be able to handle his doppelganger alone. But he had to try, and try he would.

Sonic the Hedgehog was not one to give up. Ever.

* * *

_**I'd just like to say that this story happened as a spur of the moment kind of thing, and I have absolutely no idea where it's going. Constructive criticism is apreciated. And I know, Metal's Heroes form is actually called Neo Metal Sonic, but Overlord sounds so much cooler.**_

_**Otherwise, hope you enjoy!**_

_**Everything belonging to SEGA (i.e locations, characters, items etc) belong, obviously, to SEGA.**_

_**All other characters and locations belong to me, so please don't steal.**_


	2. Assault on White Acropolis

Metal Sonic surveyed his surroundings carefully, checking the base below him for any concealed defences. The huge complex of steel grey buildings at the foot of the snowy mountain he stood atop was a blot on an otherwise beautiful landscape. Not that Metal Sonic was capable of appreciating beauty. But nonetheless, the base still needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth, and he was just the revenge-driven, emerald fuelled robot to get it done.

Satisfied that there weren't any hidden defences he didn't know about, Metal Sonic activated the powerful jet engine on his back and shot down the side of the mountain at an alarming velocity. He reached the steel wall of the northern edge of Eggman's base within seconds, and carried on straight through it with a mighty crash. The wall exploded into the base and destroyed more than a few security robots, clearing a path for Metal Sonic to burst across the snowy field beyond the wall and straight into a building. Several mounted vulcan cannons automatically targeted him as soon as he entered the small building, but he was too swift for any of them to even hope to hit. Nonetheless, he stopped and took aim at the cannons, destroying them with powerful lightning strikes from his fingertips.

This lightning attack was not one of his default manoeuvres, nor was it copied, but it was an original attack he had created last time he used his Overlord form. Of course, back then he had used it destroy part of Eggman's flagship and transform into what the heroes had dubbed 'Metal Madness'. Metal Sonic didn't approve of the term.

It didn't take long for Metal Sonic to crash through the other side of the building, which had appeared to be some kind of storage complex, and continue on into another snowfield. He was met by a dozen or so security drones as he crossed this next field, and they wasted no time in opening fire on him. The drones were tiny spherical things, and were of no danger to Metal Sonic. Their lasers bounced harmlessly off of his near-impenetrable blue armour, almost amusing the Sonic replica. However Metal Sonic didn't feel amusement, and so he unleashed another lightning blast which forked outwards from his palm and struck all the drones simultaneously, overloading and destroying them. He ignited his jet engine and started moving again, leaving the charred remains of his enemies behind.

Still flying headlong through the complex, Metal found himself crashing through the wall to a large hangar-like building. The hangar was huge; it would take a normal person at least 20 minutes to walk across it, and the roof above him was shrouded in darkness. However, there were no aircraft in sight. There were, however, at least three dozen white and black robots armed with personal vulcan cannons taking up positions to rip the intruder apart. Metal Sonic almost felt sorry for them.

Almost.

They fired on him immediately, but not before he managed to activate his near-impenetrable Black Shield, one of his oldest defensive manoeuvres. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the ebon barrier, giving Metal Sonic enough time to target each individual robot and decide how to destroy it. He rocketed towards one and ploughed straight through it, his Black Shield tearing it apart. He destroyed several more in this way until his shield shut down thanks to the seemingly endless hail of bullets. Activating his jets once more, Metal Sonic darted up into the rafters of the warehouse, drawing his assailants' fire, and then shot back down, too fast for them to hit. He grabbed one of the robots and ripped it half as he flew past, put his fist through another's head on a return flight, and overloaded several more with his lighting attack.

Soon, he had whittled down the robots to only one, and he dispatched it with a raking slash through its internal circuitry with his razor-sharp claws. He exited the hangar and carried on with his search, attempting to locate the control room of the compound where Eggman would presumably be hiding. By now the base's alarms had been activated and the reflective white of the snow was bathed in an eerie red. It didn't take long for Metal Sonic to locate the control room; typical Eggman design dictated it was directly in the centre of the base, and so it was.

The vengeful robot hovered over the small circular building, stopped for a second to gather power, and then descended so quickly that the wind didn't even have time to whistle. He crashed through the roof of the control room foot first and crushed the steel floor as he landed, with the shockwaves of his impact sending tables, chairs, computers and guard robots into the circular wall of the room. Once he had composed himself, Metal Sonic surveyed his surroundings. How peculiar. His creator was nowhere to be found.

Wasting no time, Metal Sonic strode over to the base's mainframe, which was a large pillar of processors in the centre of the circular room, and placed a hand against its surface. He sent thousands of tiny nanobots cascading into the machine with his touch, all of which had the task of discovering where Eggman had gone. The nanobots were an interesting addition by Eggman; he had added them during Metal's capture, presumably for use once he had been reprogrammed. The fool had never anticipated that they would be used against him. The nanobots swiftly returned through Metal's waiting hand, reporting their collective findings.

It would seem that Eggman had learned of the events on Angel Island via a satellite, and realised that Knuckles would quickly warn Sonic and the others that Metal Sonic had returned and was heading for White Acropolis. He knew Sonic would head there immediately, and only his friends and a weakened Knuckles would be left to guard the Master Emerald. Thus, he had taken off in his Egg Carrier III for Angel Island in order to take the Master Emerald for himself.

Metal Sonic's face showed no emotion, it was incapable of doing so, but he inwardly seethed. He should have anticipated this. However, it was of no consequence. The nanobots reported that Eggman had only left an hour or so ago, meaning Metal could easily catch up to him. His new target designated, he once again activated his jets and burst through the hole he had made in the ceiling of the control room into the cold sky.

He was about to begin his pursuit when his proximity warning sensors went haywire. Turning to see the source of their distress, he found himself facing what appeared to be a large black cloud. As this cloud got closer, he realised it was not a cloud, but perhaps the largest barrage of missiles he'd ever seen. He raised his palm and unleashed his lightning blast once again, annihilating most of the incoming missiles, but a few were left intact and continued on their deadly path. Just as he was about to repeat his attack and finish them off, something slammed into his back and exploded. It would seem the frontal missiles were merely a diversion, and the real attack had come from behind. Before he had a chance to turn and destroy these new missiles, at least three more crashed into him, damaging his jet engine and sending him plummeting back to the base below.

He landed heavily in a large field of light snow surrounded by a circular steel wall, which almost seemed like some kind of medieval arena. He picked himself up and his diagnostic systems told him he wasn't badly damaged, and that luckily the nanobots would have his jet engine repaired within 15 minutes or less. He looked up to see what his assailant was, and found himself staring at what appeared to be a small battleship. It had a large circular main body and four protruding arms all stocked with a ridiculous amount of missile salvos and vulcan cannons.

If Metal Sonic could, he would have snarled. This machine was merely a distraction, an inconvenience placed before him to give Eggman a greater head start. He had to take it down quickly, even if his jet engine was damaged. The machine's salvos opened and what could be mistaken for another cloud of missiles emerged, all trained on Metal Sonic. His crimson eyes flashed dangerously, and he jumped backwards, a full twenty feet, and landed on the wall of the snowy arena. Completely disregarding the missiles, he began walking around the wall while raising his right arm to the machine. Focusing his chaos energy into his palm, Metal Sonic unleashed a devastating lighting strike directly into the underside of the floating craft. While the missiles impacted harmlessly around him, Metal unleashed another strike, and another, and another, until the craft's anti-gravity engine exploded and it began its agonising descent to the snowy arena.

Hopping back down to the arena to dodge the last of the missiles, Metal Sonic didn't flinch as the huge machine crashed into the snow with an Earth-shattering thoom. The shockwaves its impact caused flung snow everywhere, including over Metal Sonic's eyes, blocking his vision. He casually lifted a hand and wiped away the snow, only to find a huge robotic wolf bearing down on him. Fantastic. Yet another distraction.

The wolf seemed to have come from nowhere and ploughed into the much smaller blue robot with enough force to send him across the arena and into the remains of the huge, fallen craft. Metal Sonic calmly picked himself up and stared across at his large foe. Why would Eggman build such a creature? It was black and red in colour, heavily armoured and capable of attacking even him with great force, but it seemed to be acting like a normal wolf. It was pacing the opposite side of the snowy arena as though sizing up its prey, which Metal Sonic found impressive. Perhaps Eggman had improved his AI skills after learning his mistake with Metal. Although it was more likely that it was just a fluke.

A quick scan revealed the obvious weakness to be the beast's control antenna, located on the back of its neck. He could use the antenna to control the wolf and make it ram itself into the walls of the arena until it was incapacitated. However, that method of destroying it could take time, which was something Metal Sonic didn't have. A tiny bleeping noise told him his jet engine was now repaired, which would shorten this fight dramatically. The beast across from him almost seemed to be challenging him; like it wanted to test its strength against his own.

"As you wish," Metal Sonic said in answer to the unspoken challenge. He activated his jets and rose slightly from the wreckage of the craft, while the wolf began treading the snow, readying itself to charge. Both combatants eyed each other carefully, and then, on some non-existent signal, charged at each other simultaneously. The beast thundered towards its much smaller rival who met it head on and grabbed its huge armoured face with his clawed hands, and despite the size difference, matched the huge robot in strength. To the observer, it would appear to be a stalemate, but Metal Sonic knew differently.

Charging his jets to maximum, he easily overpowered the metallic beast and brought it to its knees. He then reared back and brought his fist crashing down on the beast's head with a thunderous clang. He had put a mighty dent in his opponent's armour, and while it was dazed he darted over its thrashing head and grabbed the end of its tail. With a tremendous amount of strength, he heaved the creature off the ground and spun in a complete circle before launching it into the remains of the downed craft. It crashed into its fallen comrade with a devastating crunch, and as it flailed helplessly in its attempt to get back up, Metal Sonic raised his palm once more.

He launched his most powerful lightning strike yet at the exposed belly of the beast, striking its marginally weaker armour and penetrating to the circuits inside. The circuitry ignited and exploded with an almighty boom, blowing up the craft it rested on with it and adding to the already huge explosion. Metal Sonic would have sneered if he could. As it was, he did nothing but blast through the rising plume of smoke into the skies beyond.

Eggman's distractions had proven useless against his might. No matter what the rotund Doctor threw at him, nothing would stop him from plunging his clawed hand into his creator's chest and ripping the still-beating life force from within him.

Nothing.

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog was bearing down on his robotic doppelganger. He could feel it.

It hadn't taken him as long as he thought it would to cross the ocean; he had reached the Kingdom of Soleanna within an hour of leaving South Island. From there, it had only taken him a few minutes to reach the mountain pass Eggman's base was situated in. It had been in better shape than he'd expected. He knew Metal Sonic had to be there, but strangely the base was still mostly intact, with only a few buildings showing any damage. He was about to sprint down the side of the hill he stood upon and enter the base when a huge explosion erupted up from a field-like area near the edge of the complex.

Mere seconds after this blast, Sonic had glimpsed a blue streak blast through the growing plume of smoke. It was Metal Sonic. His gut had tightened momentarily, but he quickly reverted back into his usual cocky self and sprinted down the hill and through the base, aiming to catch up to Metal Sonic before he went out of reach. Within seconds of passing the base, Sonic found himself at the foot of a huge, white mountain.

He sprinted up the side of this mountain, almost running vertically at one point, and blasted onto the peak in a shower of snow. He stopped on the flat plateau to have a look at the snowy landscape before him, using his powerful eyes to search for any trace of Metal Sonic. There was nothing. He was about to continue over the other side of the mountain to continue his search when he felt a huge energy surge approaching him at speed. The ground he had been standing on mere nanoseconds ago was blasted into oblivion as Sonic leapt into the air and twirled elegantly to face his attacker. He wasn't surprised by who it was.

"Metal Sonic!" he exclaimed confidently. "Come to take me up on my offer, eh?"

"Your rematch means nothing to me," the robotic doppelganger replied, his deep voice resounding in Sonic's ears. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so while you ascended this mountain."

"Yeah? Think you can take me?"

"Hedgehog, you are nothing to me. For now, at least. I suggest you do nothing to change that."

"Come on you metal faker," Sonic chuckled, "You think just 'cos you've got that little cape and your fancy armour you can take me? Show me what you've got."

Metal Sonic looked at him, then out into the distance as though considering something, then back at Sonic again. The robot's chilling red eyes burned a hole in Sonic's skull, and despite being programmed to feel no emotion, the hedgehog could feel the hatred in them. Metal Sonic wanted to rip him limb from limb, but something seemed to be distracting him. Sonic put two and two together and figured out that Eggman must be escaping, and that Metal was worried he'd lose him. He had to make sure that happened. Eggman was definitely not a good person, but he wasn't bad enough that he deserved to die.

"Come on Metal," Sonic goaded, "Don't tell me the unstoppable killer robot is scared of little old me?"

Metal fixed him with a glare that could have driven some people to suicide, but he didn't answer.

"Aww... I'm flattered," Sonic teased, fluttering his eyelids and clasping his hands together. It always seemed to be his cockiness that led to him getting hurt. For little less than a second Sonic heard a jet engine activate before Metal Sonic slammed his fist into the hedgehog's ribs. Sonic was lifted off the ground by the blow and flew backwards before skidding along the snow and almost slipping over the edge of the plateau. He glanced over the edge briefly and saw the huge drop below him, which was all but obscured by low-lying clouds. He swiftly flipped up to his feet and faced Metal Sonic, who was walking ever so slowly towards him.

"So, got time for me after all?" Sonic said, grinning and rubbing a finger against his nose.

"For you, my loathsome rival, I can _make_ time," Metal Sonic replied. Sonic barely had time to tense himself before Metal blasted forward and tried to drive a fist through his skull. Sonic, however, had moved to the side and shot around to the other edge of the plateau and was preparing his spin attack. Metal Sonic recovered quickly and turned to face him, just as he launched forward in a buzzsaw-like ball.

The Black Shield came up at the last possible second, and Sonic impacted it with enough force to blast back all the snow from the mountaintop. He bounced off into the air, dazed by the thunderous impact, and was unable to defend himself as Metal Sonic warped up to him and wrapped his claws around his neck. The robot slammed him downwards into the hard ground below, creating a small crater and sending cracks cascading across the rocky plateau.

Sonic groggily reached up a hand to pull himself out of the crater but was caught unexpectedly around the neck again and lifted high into the air. Metal Sonic, his rival in hand, ignited his engine once again and blasted over the edge of the mountain until his captive dangled over the massive drop to the valley floor.

This was it.

* * *

_**Oooh... suspense...**_

_**But anyway, I have a very vague idea for a plotline now, so we'll see how it goes from here.**_

_**Everything belonging to SEGA (i.e locations, characters, items etc) belong, obviously, to SEGA.**_

_**All other characters and locations belong to me, so please don't steal.**_


	3. Egg Race

Metal Sonic's clawed hand was wrapped tightly around the neck of Sonic the Hedgehog, dangling him high above the hard ground below. From this height, even with Sonic's tough bones, the fall would be fatal.

"You've... you've gotten better..." Sonic choked as he punched away at Metal Sonic's arm.

"I have been empowered by the Master Emerald. Your chances of defeating me now are nil."

"Yeah?" Sonic choked again, glancing over the robot's shoulder, "What... what if I had a little... help?"

Metal Sonic's head snapped around just in time to see a bolt of pure chaos energy blasting towards him. How could he not have sensed it? He dropped Sonic and warped back to the mountaintop, where his attacker had just warped away.

Sonic plummeted downwards, but if anyone could see the look on his face, they would swear he was bored. He felt his saviour's appearance before he actually appeared, and thrust out his arm to grab him. His gloved hand wrapped itself around a black-furred arm and together they warped back to Metal Sonic.

Metal had realised that he had left himself open to attack because he become too preoccupied with his rival. He would not let it happen again. Just as he realised this, there was a green flash above him and the curled blue form of Sonic shot out towards him. The hedgehog was repelled once again by the Black Shield and landed at the feet of his saviour.

"Pathetic," Shadow the Hedgehog sneered. He shifted his gaze from Sonic to the robot and began walking towards him, his crimson eyes oozing malice. He stopped walking when he got within 3 metres of Metal Sonic, and calmly folded his arms.

"Metal Sonic," he said, "Where is Omega?"

"That is not my concern. And at the moment, nor are you."

Shadow's face remained unchanged. "You were the last one to see Omega after I left him. He took you from the Doctor's flagship after you went offline. You owe him, and subsequently, me. Now tell me where he is."

"I owe you nothing. If E-123 Omega had kept my creator from recapturing me I would consider him an ally, but as it is, I do not. And as for you, you are among my secondary targets."

"So the Doctor was the last one to see him?"

"Correct. Now stand aside so I can-" Metal Sonic was interrupted by his rival crashing into the back of his head. In the past, such an attack would have knocked him to the ground, but now, it barely even fazed him. His head jerked forwards from the impact and Sonic darted off around the plateau, then turned and launched himself into a follow-up attack. Metal Sonic timed his counter perfectly, dropping to one knee and thrusting his fist upwards into the jaw of his spinning opponent. Sonic uncurled immediately and would have soared upwards, but his flight was halted by Metal Sonic's hand wrapping around his ankle and hurling him back to the ground. Sonic cried out as he bounced across the plateau once again, but his cries were cut short as Metal blasted over to him and grabbed him by the throat. There would be no more distractions.

"Metal Sonic."

The robot looked up at Shadow, who was nonchalantly watching him choke the life out of the blue hedgehog. He didn't answer, encouraging Shadow to continue.

"If the Doctor is indeed the last person to have seen Omega, then it would seem we have a common target. I therefore propose a temporary alliance. If you accept, release the blue hedgehog. He may prove to be useful."

Metal Sonic considered the offer. Briefly. He had no use for Shadow's help; he was more than capable of reaching Eggman himself. And his help was not worth Sonic's survival. He silently turned back to Sonic, whose eyes had now glazed over, and raised his other hand, sharp claws prepared to finish him off. Before he could, however, he was hit in the side of the head with one of Shadow's energy blasts. Unlike Sonic's spin attack, this blast was powerful enough to stagger the robot. His hand loosened its grip momentarily and Sonic took the chance to scramble away.

"You... you could have... done that... sooner!" he gasped angrily at Shadow. The ebony hedgehog lowered his palm slowly and sneered. The green Chaos Emerald he seemed to have produced from nowhere glowed brightly in his other hand.

"We cannot beat him, even together. We must therefore distract his attention elsewhere."

"Are you... kidding?" Sonic panted, slowly regaining his breath. "Me and you? We... we can take him easy!"

"Doubtful," Shadow said. He lowered his stance slightly as Metal Sonic composed himself, readying himself to fight if he had to. Sonic shakily stood up and did the same.

"Metal Sonic, I understand your wish to kill this blue hedgehog-" Shadow started.

"Hey!"

"But we both know you have more pressing matters. The Doctor is getting closer to Angel Island every second you waste fighting us, and with the power of the Master Emerald in his grasp, I believe he will find a way to recapture you."

Metal Sonic inclined his head very slightly, mulling over what the hedgehog had said. While it was true that he desperately wanted to destroy his rival, he knew that Eggman was the bigger threat. But then, he also knew that Shadow was simply trying to buy time for himself and, possibly, Sonic. He made up his mind, and looked back at Shadow.

"It seems you are correct," he said, his deep voice reverberating in both hedgehogs' ears. "But do not believe that I am sparing either of you. Once my creator is dead, both of you, along with your friends, will perish at my hands."

"Yeah? We'll see about tha- ugh!" Sonic started, but was cut off by Shadow's elbow crashing into his gut. Metal Sonic took one last look at the pair, and then turned and blasted off into the sky.

Sonic picked himself up for what seemed like the hundredth time, and glared at Shadow.

"What are you playing at? We need to stop him before he kills Eggman!"

"Agreed," Shadow replied, staring after Metal Sonic. "However, as I said, we cannot defeat him alone. We will need the Doctor's help."

"What? You want to team up with lard-belly? No way!"

"You've done it more than once in the past, Sonic," Shadow replied evenly, turning to look at him. "And if you want to defeat Metal Sonic, you'll do it again. But we're wasting time. We must reach the Doctor before Metal Sonic does if we want any chance of stopping him."

"I don't think so, faker," Sonic shot back. "I appreciate the save, but I'll stop Metal Sonic on my own if it's all the same to you."

"As you wish," Shadow replied, turning his back to Sonic. "However, consider this. Metal Sonic has a head start on you, and considering he is capable of matching you in terms of speed, you will not reach the Doctor before him. And not only that, but he seems to have the ability to teleport large distances without a Chaos Emerald."

Sonic, who had been about to leave, turned back to face Shadow. While he knew that the ebony hedgehog was right, his stubbornness told him to continue after Metal Sonic on his own. Still, Shadow was implying he had a way of reaching Eggman first, and Sonic was curious as to how he planned to do it.

"Maybe you're right, Shadow," he said evenly, "But just how d'you plan on beating him there?"

Shadow's sneer reappeared as he turned back to face his sometime rival. "I have the ability to warp time and space, blue hedgehog. Perhaps you'd forgotten?"

"Not at all, Shad," Sonic chuckled sarcastically, "But I've used that power too, and I know for a fact that you need to know exactly where you're going. And we don't know where Eggman's ship is."

"No, but we know where it is going."

"What?" Sonic asked, clearly confused. "You want to teleport to Angel Island? Surely that's cutting things a bit fine."

"No, you blue fool," Shadow sighed, "But Eggman's satellite cameras back in that base showed that the island is above the central plains of the Southern Federation. Therefore, I will teleport us both to the coast and as soon as we see the Eggman's ship we teleport to it."

"Nice plan Shad," Sonic said, punching Shadow playfully on the shoulder. Shadow reacted immediately and grabbed the blue hedgehog's wrist, twisting it back then thrusting Sonic away from him.

"Never touch me again, Sonic," he warned, "And do not call me 'Shad'. My name is-"

"Faker, the ultimate angst-fraud," Sonic said, impersonating Shadow's voice. "Now, are we going after Metal anytime today?"

"In a moment," Shadow said, turning away, "First I have to report in."

Shadow pulled back the crimson cuff of his right glove, revealing a watch similar to the one Sonic had used to talk to Tails. Sonic stood a short ways behind him as he tapped in a few commands, already becoming bored. Moments after Shadow entered the desired frequency, a female bat's face appeared on the watch's small screen.

"Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed, "Actually telling me what's going on? This makes a pleasant change."

"It is necessary, Rouge," Shadow replied coldly. "There was no information regarding Omega in the White Acropolis base, but I encountered Metal Sonic, who told me that the Doctor was the last one to see him."

"Metal Sonic?" Rouge gasped, "I thought he was with Omega?"

"He was, but it would appear that the Doctor recaptured him. He has since escaped, and is going after the Doctor."

"Then... what could have happened to Omega?"

"I intend to find out. The Doctor is heading for Angel Island, with the intent of taking the Master Emerald, and Metal Sonic is in pursuit. I will intercept him and determine Omega's status."

"Hmm..." Rouge mused, running a finger across her crimson lips, "That's quite convenient actually..."

"Explain."

"I just got a call from the fox-boy. He wants me to head to Angel Island and help them defend the Master Emerald. Might be a good chance to finally get my hands on it too..."

"Stick to the mission, Rouge," Shadow warned, "Once I determine Omega's location, I will come and retrieve you, understood?"

"You got it, my tall, dark and handsome partner," Rouge said with a wink. Shadow didn't reply and shut off communications, before turning back to Sonic.

"Everything good with the missus, Shad?" he asked, grinning. "Nah, I'm kidding. Are we going now?"

"Hmph. Very well, stand closer."

Sonic strode over until he was right next to Shadow, close enough to cause the ebony-furred hedgehog to sneer again. However, he ignored it and held out his Chaos Emerald.

"CHAOS... CONTROL!"

* * *

Dr Eggman strode through the long, metallic passageways of his Egg Carrier III, heading for one of his many laboratories. His ship was the most advanced model yet, complete with huge engines allowing it to travel up to nearly 150mph, multiple high calibre vulcan and laser cannons, dozens of missile salvos and even a portable robot manufacturing plant. Any GUN operative worth their salt would class the craft as a warship.

To Eggman, however, it was simply convenient. He had been working on the ship for more than half a year, and when Metal Sonic escaped his Southern Federation base and disabled Angel Island's guardian, Eggman had seen the perfect opportunity to take the Master Emerald and put his newest plan into motion. He used his transporter, developed from plans to the Space Colony ARK's teleportation technology found in his grandfather's diary, and travelled across the globe to his White Acropolis base, where his Egg Carrier III had just been completed.

And now, here he was, stalking towards one of his craft's many labs to activate one of his contingency plans, just in case Sonic was unable to stop his doppelganger. The doors to the lab slid open as he approached, and the automatic lighting system that activated revealed rows upon rows of glass stasis tubes. Eggman strode down one of the rows, glancing at the many tubes' contents, until he reached another set of doors at the very back of the room. It was in here that he kept his most powerful robots. The doors slid open and Eggman slipped inside, looking at the three tubes that the room contained.

The room's dim lighting flashed on his round spectacles sinisterly, and he walked over to the room's leftmost tube. Tapping a few commands into the console in front of the tube, he brought up the release procedures.

"Please enter password," a mechanical voice droned.

"Password is: 'Argentum'," Eggman replied, a wide grin plastered across his chubby features. A small light on the console flashed green, and there was a loud hiss as steam escaped vents at the top of the stasis capsule. The green liquid drained from the tube into pipes under the floor, and the tube's occupant was left standing on its own two feet. Its head was drooped against its chest, obscuring its metallic face.

"It is time, my creation!" Eggman exclaimed, holding his arms out towards the tube. "Your second coming has arrived!"

The robot before him lifted its head slowly. Suddenly, the blackness of its eyes was replaced with a bright yellow grid as the machine flickered to life.

"What are your orders, Doctor?"

* * *

Knuckles the Echidna had not long recovered from his ordeal with Metal Sonic when his next ordeal began. He had been relaxing against the Master Emerald, allowing its energies to heal his injuries and replenish his stamina, when a loud noise filled the air. He immediately jumped to his feet and saw a small blue jet, as well as a GUN dropship, approaching the island. He easily indentified the blue plane as the Cyclone, but the purpose of the dropship eluded him. Had Tails called in help from the military as well?

The dropship slowed as it approached the Emerald shrine. It was a large grey vehicle, resembling a helicopter without the rotors, instead having four large jets mounted on its body. Two of these jets were on the rear of the craft, and the other two were mounted on its belly, allowing it to move at a fair pace as well as hover. And hover is exactly what it did as it cleared the forest surrounding the clearing, which was when its purpose was revealed.

"Oh great..." Knuckles muttered, rubbing his palm across his face. The source of his exasperation had just dropped out of the craft and was gliding elegantly down to meet him, her powerful wings ensuring that she landed softly. The dropship turned and flew off as soon as she was out.

"Hey sugar," Rouge the Bat said seductively, "Long time no see."

"Not long enough, bat-girl," Knuckles replied gruffly. "What are you doing here? After my Emerald again?"

"Oh please, what do you take me for?"

"A common thief who likes jewels just a little too much."

"Oh Knuckles, I'm hurt!" Rouge exclaimed, fluttering her eyelashes. "I may be a thief, darling, but I'm far from common. Besides, I'm here on strictly government business."

"Government? What does this have to do with them?" Knuckles asked, scratching his head.

"Well sweetie, my bosses figure that if the Doctor gets his hands on this... alluring gem, then he may well become a threat to them," Rouge said. This was true, but her bosses also made sure to let her know that finding Omega was her primary concern. She was only here to make her rendezvous with Shadow easier.

Knuckles grunted and turned his back to the bat. "I neither need nor want your help, bat-girl. Go back to your bosses, and tell them my Emerald is none of their business."

"I'd love to, but-" she started, but was interrupted by the Cyclone slamming into the ground not ten metres away. It was in its walker mode, allowing it to land quickly and letting its three occupants disembark. Tails, Amy, and a black and yellow robot Rouge didn't recognise stepped out onto the grass of the clearing and made their way towards the shrine. As soon as Knuckles saw the robot, he dropped into a combat stance and raised his fists defensively.

"Tails!" he shouted angrily, "What in Chaos is that thing doing on my island?!"

Tails stopped abruptly and held out a hand, stopping Amy and the robot. Rouge noted that he didn't look overly surprised by Knuckles' reaction, meaning he had expected it.

"Knuckles, calm down," the auburn fox reasoned, "G-mel is completely safe now, I reprogrammed him myself, remember?"

"Not good enough Tails, last time I saw that thing it was trying to kill me!"

"That's because he was overloaded with energy! He's fine now, Knuckles, I promise!"

Knuckles growled, but lowered his fists. Brushing past Rouge, he started down the steps of the shrine towards the new arrivals. Rouge watched all of this with interest. Clearly there was some history with this G-mel machine, but she had never even heard of it. Although, it did look strangely familiar.

"So, where's my Sonic?" Amy asked, looking around as Knuckles reached them.

"Off being an idiot, no doubt," Knuckles said dismissively. "Tails, you said that this robot went insane because it was overloaded, right?"

"That's right, why?"

"Well, make sure you keep it away from my Emerald then. I don't want another incident."

"I'll try my best, but I've installed various failsafes just in case he absorbs too much energy again, so everything should be fine."

"So, just who is this dashing robot?" Rouge asked, arriving behind Knuckles.

"Umm... this is G-mel," Tails answered nervously. For some reason, Rouge always made him feel a bit uncomfortable. "Eggman made him, based on Emerl's design."

"I thought he looked familiar. And all that overloading business you were talking about was similar to what happened to Emerl, I presume?"

"Yeah... that's right. Sonic went super and defeated G-mel, but he wasn't destroyed and I repaired him. He was living with Cream and her mother, but they said it was okay for him to come and help."

Rouge nodded thoughtfully. There was clearly more to the story, but she had heard all she needed to for now. G-mel simply stood still during all of this, seeming completely detached. Or offline, the bat couldn't tell.

"Umm... Tails?" Amy said, tapping the young fox on the shoulders and pointing into the distance. "What's that?"

They all turned to look at what she was pointing at. There was a large black dot in the afternoon sky, and it seemed to be growing bigger. No words were said, but everyone present agreed that the object definitely looked sinister.

"That has to be the Doctor," Rouge said, stating what everyone was thinking.

"Just as I thought," Knuckles growled, "He's coming for my Emerald."

"Dr Eggman machinery detected," G-mel said suddenly. Everyone was caught off-guard by his sudden speech, and turned to stare at him.

"G-mel? Do you know what kind of machinery he's using?" Tails asked.

"Searching schematics against archives... one match found. Craft most closely resembles the transport labelled 'Egg Carrier'."

"Egg Carrier?" Amy asked. "Like the one he used when he released Chaos? I thought it was destroyed!"

"He probably just built a new one, Amy," Tails said. "G-mel, can you predict how long it'll take to get here?"

"Calculating... approximately one hour to arrival, Miles."

"You said that the rabbit made friends with him, right?" Rouge asked, nodding at G-mel.

"Yeah... why?"

"He just seems a bit too robotic to socialise with, that's all. How does a seven year old play with something so blank?"

"He's not always like this; Cream seems to be able to soften him up."

"Enough of this pointless talk," Knuckles cut in, "What do we do to stop Eggman?"

"We wait for Sonic to do something, and if he doesn't, we hold Eggman off until he does," Tails replied, his faith in Sonic remaining absolute.

"Yeah!" Amy exclaimed, "Sonic'll save us!"

Knuckles glanced at Rouge, and they rolled their eyes simultaneously. They, being slightly older and more mature than Tails and Amy, knew that Sonic couldn't always be relied upon to save the day. The Black Arms attack was as much proof as they needed to know that. If Sonic couldn't get the job done, then they'd have to hold off Eggman themselves.

What Rouge knew that none of the others did, however, was that Sonic wasn't the only one after Eggman. But she wasn't about to tell them about Shadow's mission, to spare their feelings if nothing else. As soon as her partner got the information he needed from the Doctor, he'd leave the wannabe dictator to it. He didn't care about Knuckles' Master Emerald, and he didn't care about Eggman's schemes. He only seemed to care about his mission.

The group separated and spread across the clearing, ready to defend the shrine against Eggman's inevitable attack.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow materialised in a bright green flash on the coast of the Southern Federation, and were both immediately on the lookout for the Egg Carrier III. They were standing on a rocky outcrop that jutted out over the ocean, high above the water below. It didn't take long for them to spot Eggman's craft.

"There it is Shad," Sonic said, pointing up at it, "Let's get up there."

"Very well, but there is one thing I want to make clear before we do."

"What?"

"Before you start anything with the Doctor, remember that I need to speak with him. If you get between me and my goal, any alliance we may have will be void, understand?"

"Absolutely, my faking friend," Sonic replied with a mock-salute. "But I-"

"Wait, Sonic... can you see that object behind the Egg Carrier?" Shadow asked.

Sonic squinted into the sky, and could just barely make out the tiniest of dots following the silhouette of Eggman's craft. It seemed to be catching up, and fast.

"Has to be Metal..." Sonic muttered, "How did you see him? More to the point, how'd he get here so fast?"

"I am the ultimate lifeform, Sonic, my eyesight is far superior to yours. And as to how he got here, he likely used Chaos Control to cross the ocean, much as we did. But that is of no consequence. What matters is we have very little time to ensure the Doctor's cooperation before Metal Sonic reaches him."

"Won't take long, Shad," Sonic said, "Eggman'll be desperate when we get up there. But still, we need to be careful in case he betrays us."

"He may betray you, Sonic, but not me. You watch your own back, and I'll watch mine, clear?"

"Yeah, yeah... enough with the warnings already, Mr 'I'm a total anti-hero and I don't like anyone'. Just get us up there and we'll get this over with."

"Very well," Shadow said, holding back his anger for the sake of the mission. He held out his Chaos Emerald once again, and focused on the Egg Carrier in the distance.

"CHAOS... CONTROL!"

* * *

_**Right, how did that go? I don't really like the scene on Angel Island, but it's the only way I could think of to write it. If that makes sense.**_

_**Anyway, this plot seems to be developing itself as I write, so we'll see how it goes from here.**_

_**On another note, maybe if you like this you could drop a review? Don't mean to sound desperate, but some criticism could be helpful. Just sayin'. Also, a free (if imaginary) cookie to anyone who figures out the not-so-cryptic clue about who Eggman's releasing! Yay!**_

_**But enough of that. Thanks again for reading.**_


	4. Shaky Truce

_**Hello again!**_

_**I'd just like to thank the people who added this story to their favourites list! It's much appreciated, even if there are only two of you I know are reading. Still, thanks muchly!**_

_**Hope I continue to please.**_

* * *

The blue hue of the sky seemed to merge with the sea as it blurred past. If it wasn't for the approaching land mass, Metal Sonic may have believed he was flying through some kind of blue wormhole. His speed had forced his optical sensors into tunnel vision, but the tunnel was focused on only one thing; the Egg Carrier III.

It hadn't taken him long to catch up to it; he had used the energy he'd absorbed from the Master Emerald to warp across the ocean in smallish jumps, ever vigilant for Eggman's craft. Now that he had found it, Metal Sonic had decided not to warp directly to it. The energy he'd absorbed was limited, and he didn't want to waste it on teleportation when he could easily catch up to the ship without it. He was fast approaching the craft, travelling at speeds above the sound barrier. He would be upon it within seconds.

As he got closer, he altered his flight path so that he was heading over the ship, in order to scout out the defences. The ship was huge; easily the length of a hundred football pitches, if not more. It had been painted in reds and blacks, with silver strips lining the deck for, presumably, take-off and landing purposes and a large, almost tower-like building dominated the centre of the deck. This had to be the command tower, where Eggman would be holed up.

Eggman hadn't spared any effort on defence systems; there appeared to be hundreds of laser and missile salvos lining the deck, presumably all equipped with target-locking equipment. To most attackers, this would be problematic, but to Metal Sonic, it was merely an inconvenience. The robot activated his scanning mode and swept his vision across the ship, soon locating the power source for the cannons, which seemed to have finally locked onto him. The power source was situated to the stern of the craft, a few decks below the top level near the craft's massive engines. Removing it would make it his mission far simpler, not to mention quicker.

The cannons suddenly began opening fire, and Metal Sonic had to alter his flight path to dodge the incoming projectiles. Their lock-on technology seemed to be more sophisticated than he had anticipated, as even when he attempted to dodge a laser burned into his forearm armour. The damage wasn't serious, and his nanobots would soon repair it, but the plucky robot was still taken off-guard. He swerved off to the side, blasting downwards and underneath the ship. Missiles followed him down, but they were swiftly destroyed by a few lightning blasts. Unfortunately, Metal Sonic discovered that the belly of the ship was lined with cannons as well.

There were at least as many cannons on the underside of the ship as there were on the deck, if not more. The vengeful robot swerved between incoming missiles lithely and blasted off, this time back up above the deck and into the sky, out of range of the cannons. A few missiles followed him up, but they were easily dispatched. The robot re-evaluated his position. It would seem that Eggman's ship was more formidable than he had originally thought. However, all its defences could not stop him, and putting the power source for all the ship's aft cannons in one place had to be one of the stupidest things Metal had ever seen. His creator could have at least split the source to better protect it.

Metal Sonic quickly put a plan together to annihilate the power source, and began descending back down to the craft. He flipped in midair and flew directly downwards, activating his Black Shield as he did so. The clouds whipped past him as he rocketed back down like a meteor, showering his blue chrome bodywork in a glittering coat of moisture.

He was about to cripple Eggman's pathetic craft.

* * *

Dr Eggman was rushing around the control room of his ship, frantically inputting commands and activating defence systems. Metal Sonic had arrived much sooner than he had expected, and his contingency plan hadn't had enough time to reach full power.

"Blasted hedgehog..." Eggman muttered as he rushed around, "Can't even destroy his own copy..." Under other circumstances, this would have been a cause for celebration, but as it was, Eggman found himself wishing for his most hated enemy to show up. How ironic. He, the hedgehog's most dangerous foe, was hoping that he would come and save him.

A sudden flash of green behind him seemed to grant Eggman's wish. The robots that surrounded him in the control room all span round along with the human, but were quickly destroyed as a blue blur blasted from the glow and crashed around the room until only scrap metal littered the floor. Sonic skidded to a halt in the centre of the room, just as the green glow faded and Shadow stepped out.

"Hey there, Eggy," Sonic said, grinning, "How's things?"

"It took you long enough, rodent," Eggman spat. "I had hoped that you'd have destroyed Metal by now, but apparently he's too much for you."

Sonic would have usually shot back some witty remark, but he instead shuffled his feet uncomfortably, proving Eggman right. The self proclaimed genius knew there was only one reason that Sonic would be here; he knew that Metal Sonic was a bigger threat than him but couldn't beat him on his own. The thought of Sonic turning up to ask him for help brought a wide grin to Eggman's face, and a warm fuzzy feeling to his gut. This unnerved Sonic, who glanced at Shadow, causing the black-furred hedgehog to sneer and turn to face the rotund human.

"Doctor, I am here for information," he said bluntly. "Where is E-123 Omega?"

Eggman was taken aback by this. Shadow's presence in itself had been a mystery to him, but this explained things perfectly. Shadow was a dangerous individual to be sure, and not one to play about with, but nonetheless Eggman's mind quickly found a way to use Shadow's demand to his advantage. He inwardly congratulated himself on his genius, and then spoke.

"The traitor, eh?" he said confidently, "All right, I'll tell you where he is... or where I last saw him, at least. As long as you do something for me first, of course."

Shadow's frown deepened. He had been expecting something like this from the Doctor, and knew exactly what he wanted, but he had hoped to avoid fighting the robotic doppelganger again. Nonetheless, he held out his hand towards the man.

"Deal," he said, shaking his hand. "Metal Sonic will be destroyed. However, we'll need your help to defeat him, Doctor. I'm assuming you already have a plan to that effect?"

"Of course, Shadow. A true genius is never without a contingency plan."

"Yeah, yeah, enough boasting pie-man," Sonic said, his foot tapping the metal floor rapidly. "Just cut to the chase. What've you got?"

"An old... acquaintance of yours, Sonic," Eggman replied deviously. "However, he's not quite ready yet, so you two will have to hold off Metal Sonic until he is. Think you can handle that?"

"No probs," Sonic said confidently, "But let's be clear, Eggman, as soon as Metal's been taken care of, I'm comin' for you. There's no way I'm gonna let you get your hands on the Master Emerald."

"Of course, my dear pin-cushion," Eggman quipped back, a wide grin spreading across his face. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Enough of this pointless banter, Sonic," Shadow said coldly, turning and walking towards the control room's exit. "We have a job to do."

"Yes sir!" Sonic exclaimed, slamming his hand against his forehead in an exaggerated salute and turning to follow him.

"Oh... and Doctor?" Shadow said, ignoring Sonic and not even turning to look at Eggman, "If you betray me, you won't have to worry about Metal Sonic. I'll kill you myself, are we clear?"

"Perfectly, Shadow. And quite frankly, I'm insulted that you'd even consider that I'd do such a thing."

Shadow grunted and exited the room, with Sonic shooting one last grin at Eggman before following suit. Eggman returned the grin, which stayed long after Sonic was gone. The foolish hedgehog had no idea what was in store for him. If they could destroy Metal Sonic, this day could actually prove quite beneficial to the Doctor. Extremely beneficial, in fact. He turned back to his console and checked the status of his contingency weapon. He was at almost 90% of his full power. In about ten minutes, Sonic wouldn't know what had hit him.

* * *

"So, Shad," Sonic said as he and his black-furred ally walked out across the Egg Carrier's aft deck, "What makes you so convinced that we can't take Metal Sonic alone?"

"Think about it hedgehog," Shadow growled, "It's not a difficult concept."

"What? I really don't get why you're so worried. I always beat Metal, no matter what tricks he pulls on me. I'm the original, and he's the fake. A bit like you, come to think of it."

Shadow ignored him, contenting himself with a guttural growl. Sonic could be an infuriating creature at times. Most of the time, actually. His cocky attitude, his compete faith in his skills, and his overbearing insistence on being _good_... it was enough to make Shadow want to sink his fist into the hedgehog's gut and shut him up, at least for a little while. He genuinely considered it, but his mind was forced to focus on other matters all of a sudden.

What appeared to be a meteor was plummeting towards the ship. Clouds parted in its wake, as though they feared the object rocketing down past them.

Beside the black hedgehog, Sonic let out a gasp. They both knew it was Metal Sonic, and they both knew he was about to blast straight through the entire ship. When he impacted, there was no doubt the entire ship would convulse, and if the two hedgehogs didn't secure themselves somehow they might be thrown from the deck and into the ocean. Sonic sprinted across the deck wordlessly, heading straight for a turret at least four times as tall as him and holding onto a set of ladder rungs set into the side of it. Shadow stayed where he was, but having paid more attention to his surroundings, simply dropped to one knee and ripped up a large metal plate from the deck and effortlessly threw it away. He dropped into the exposed space, which was almost like a duct that ran the length of the ship, and secured himself.

Metal Sonic impacted and tore through the deck, and through every other floor for that matter, until he had ploughed through the entire ship and burst from the underside. A huge plume of flame followed him out, and blasted up through the entry hole on the deck as well. The shockwaves of the impact did indeed shake the ship, and Sonic held on tightly as his feet were flung out from under him. Shadow was nowhere to be seen, but Sonic would gamble on him being fine. All around the blue hedgehog, debris and dismembered cables rained down. Many of the deck's cannons toppled over, and even the mighty Control Tower shook.

Nonetheless, the ship corrected its flight quickly, stabilising itself and allowing Sonic to let go of the cannon and walk back out across the deck. Shards of metal and other wreckage littered the deck, as though some giant creature had emptied a bag of waste metal over the ship. Everything was eerily quiet, considering what had just happened. The only things moving were a few cables shaken loose by the impact and the white clouds above, floating nonchalantly through the blue sky.

"SONIC!"

Sonic jumped as Eggman's voice boomed through some kind of speaker system.

"Metal's destroyed the power source for my cannons! As much as I'm loathed to admit this... you may well be my last line of defence. Ugh... I feel dirty just saying that... Anyway... good luck, rodent."

"Pfft... Only on my side when you need me..." Sonic muttered, "It's always the same..."

The roar of a jet engine suddenly filled the air, and in the blink of an eye Metal Sonic had shot up from below the ship. He spotted Sonic, but ignored him and continued straight on to the Command Tower, where his prey was waiting. Sonic saw this and turned, his trainers squealing on the metal surface, and rocketed off towards the tower alongside his robotic counterpart. Since he had a head start he reached the tower first and began sprinting up the side of it, aiming to head Metal off at the pass. Both Sonics reached Eggman's floor at the same time, both Sonics collided, and one Sonic fell back down to the deck, over twenty floors below.

Metal Sonic would have sneered down at his falling enemy, but he lacked the facial features necessary. He instead turned and locked his menacing crimson eyes onto the dark glass-covered eyes of his creator, who stood just beyond the window in front of him. The human seemed scared, but not quite as terrified as the robot may have liked. Nonetheless, he raised his hand and prepared to fire a lightning bolt straight through the man's chest, ending his wretched life for good.

However, Eggman was not the one struck by an energy blast. He was, however, the one who ducked down under a console as the reinforced window imploded into the room, showering every exposed surface with sharp glass shards. Metal Sonic hovered outside the window, his back to whatever had attacked him. Swathes of smoke curled around his metal frame, as though looking to penetrate some small weakness in his armour. The robot had not been seriously damaged by the attack, but he had been staggered, even if he was flying. It took him a second to compose himself and look down at his attacker, who by that point was about to fire again.

Shadow used his emerald's power and ignited the circuitry inside the cannon he'd dislodged again, and another powerful laser streaked up towards the hovering robot. It had taken nearly all of his immense strength to rip the 12 foot tall cannon from its placement and turn it on his enemy, but it paid off as Metal was struck once again. The laser hit with the force of an artillery shell, and forced the robot to accept gravity and fall back down to the deck. _Good, _Shadow thought, _away from the Doctor. _

Metal Sonic's fall didn't last long, however; he composed himself almost immediately and activated his jets, immediately halting his descent before streaking towards his black-furred attacker. Shadow discarded the huge cannon, knowing full well he didn't have time to charge it again, and leapt out of the way as the robot's razor-sharp claws raked at the spot he had stood in mere milliseconds ago. Metal's jets roared as he changed his flight path, wheeling around in an impossible arc and blasting forward again. He crashed into Shadow before the black hedgehog had even landed and the two barrelled into a deactivated turret.

The huge metal placement crumpled as they impacted, and was wrenched from its tethering from the sheer force of the duellists. Metal Sonic had his armoured forearm wrapped in a vice-like grip around the throat of Shadow, and the black hedgehog was desperately striking at every inch of the robot he could reach. But it was to no avail; the robot didn't even flinch under the assault and his grip remained locked, gradually choking the life out of Shadow as the pair slowed to a halt.

As they touched down on the deck, Shadow resorted to a desperation tactic before he passed out. Summoning energy from the Chaos Emerald in his possession, he shut his eyes in concentration and began to glow lightly. Metal Sonic detected the increased power output of his suffocating opponent and decided to end the battle quickly; Eggman was within his grasp and he would not allow another escape. He shifted his arms in preparation to snap Shadow's neck, causing the hedgehog to gurgle something incoherently and redouble his concentration.

He was never given the chance to counter Metal Sonic.

Because Sonic got there first.

The blue hedgehog exploded from nowhere and blasted into the side of his doppelganger's head, sending a resounding clang echoing off every remaining surface and staggering the robot, giving Shadow the chance to complete his attack. As Sonic rebounded away, the black-furred hedgehog span in Metal Sonic's loosened grip and grabbed his metallic throat, his hand glowing bright with yellow tinted chaos energy.

"CHAOS... SPEAR!"

Metal Sonic was blasted backwards across the deck, slamming into the remains of a turret, which crumpled beneath him. Shadow didn't let up for a second and sent at least three more chaotic blasts at the downed robot, igniting the ammunition cells inside. The turret, and Metal Sonic along with it, exploded in a huge plume of flame, the shockwaves of which sent the two hedgehogs' spines into a frenzy. Within moments the flame had calmed itself to a smouldering flicker, which danced over the pile of wreckage with a crackling sound while black smoke rose into the air above.

Sonic would have liked to believe that was it; that Shadow had destroyed Metal Sonic and he was done with the robotic lookalike for good. But he knew from experience that his copy, like himself, was a resilient being and would more than likely walk out of the wreckage with little more than a scratch.

He was mostly right. But when Metal Sonic calmly strode out of the flames, he wasn't scratched.

"Here we go..." Sonic growled, abandoning his confident personae and adopting the attitude necessary for battle. There would be no more jibes, no jokes, and no puns... now, the fight really began.

* * *

The robotic doppelganger's creator watched the fight carefully. His small eyes followed every blow, every blast, and every strike with such intensity he failed to notice the proximity sensors bleeping to life on one of his few remaining consoles. He snapped out of his trance quickly, however, and consulted the readouts. Interesting... Apparently he was within assault range of Angel Island.

Eggman chuckled to himself as a thought struck him. Sonic was too busy out on the deck fighting Metal Sonic to stop him from doing anything, which gave the rotund scientist the perfect opportunity to catch the island's guardian unawares and take the Master Emerald. It took mere moments for Eggman to come up with a plan to accomplish this, and when he did he couldn't help but snicker at its sheer brilliance. He strode over to one of the many consoles lining the walls of the control room, and activated an elevator built into the wall that would take him down to the same lab his contingency plan was charging in. He stepped inside and pressed one of the many buttons, activating the machine. A slight hum could be heard as the doors closed and the elevator began its swift descent into the bowels of the craft.

Emerging in the lab, he once again strode through the capsule lined chamber towards the small room huddled against the far away wall. The doors slid open and the Doctor stepped inside, glancing briefly at the capsule on the far left. Sonic's temporary ally was nearly ready. However, of the three capsules in the room, the content of this particular capsule was the weakest. The one he sought was on the far right of the room, and could be considered... a newer model. He walked over to it and glanced up at the shining blue robot held within. How peculiar. He was filled with an overwhelming sense of déjà-vu, especially considering where he was about to send it. Like before, he tapped a few commands into the console to activate the release procedure.

"Please enter password," the monotonous voice droned.

"Password is: Sanctuary."

Eggman grinned to himself as steam hissed from the top of the capsule and the green containing liquid drained away. The guardian would be in for quite a shock when this robot turned up on his doorstep; after all, it wasn't the first time they'd met.

* * *

_**And yet another chapter is released. Not too much plot advancement here, but there is another mystery robot being released! Even though the first one hasn't been revealed... hmmm...**_

_**On a side note, again sounding desperate, but if you are reading and enjoying this, could you maybe drop a review? Doesn't have to be constructive, a 'hi' would do nicely, but hearing what people think would definitely help my motivation. I might even come up with a half decent plot to this story!**_

_**Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading.**_


	5. Hedgehog Brawl

Sonic roared as loudly as his lungs would allow as he sprinted the full length of the Egg Carrier III, bearing down on his robotic copy and aiming to rip him in half. Metal's last blow had been a mighty uppercut that had sent him crashing across the deck and almost off the ship, something Sonic was about to pay him back for. As the blue hedgehog broke the sound barrier, Shadow flipped backwards off the ground moments before Metal's fist tore through the spot he had just lain on. The ebon-furred hedgehog leapt backwards, aiming to put some distance between himself and the robot, and unleashed another chaos spear. The pulsing yellow energy bolt distracted his adversary just long enough to stop him from dodging Sonic's incoming spin attack.

Sonic cringed as he struck Metal's ridiculously tough armour. _Man, Eggman doesn't build 'em like he used to..._ he thought as he bounced off the metal shell high into the air. Metal Sonic made no sound as he staggered, but he was momentarily disorientated, giving Shadow the opportunity to grab a broken girder, warp behind him, and swing the huge beam at his head. The girder bent under the clanging impact, and Metal was staggered again, this time stumbling off to the side, but still not going down. Shadow reared the girder back again, before delivering another thunderous blow. The already misshapen piece of metal bent further as it coiled around Metal's skull, staggering him further.

Sonic landed a few feet away, and immediately sprinted at his opponent, ready to seize any chance he could to attack. He leapt forward and coiled into a buzzsaw-like ball, and struck a glancing blow to where Metal's temples should have been. Metal was brought to his knees from the attack, and Shadow prepared to strike again with the huge girder. Sonic landed, and also prepared his next attack. He was sure they had Metal on his last legs; they could beat him.

Unfortunately for the two biological hedgehogs, however, their artificial opponent was far from beaten. He placed his palm on the steel ground and sent a huge electrical discharge into it. The electricity pulsed through every section of the ship, momentarily energising everything on it. Sonic and Shadow screamed in unison as the volts coursed through their bodies, only staying alive thanks to their remarkable healing abilities. The charge only lasted five seconds or so, but that was enough to cause the hedgehogs to slump to their knees, fur smouldering and skin charred. They both collapsed as one, while Metal Sonic rose from one knee until he was towering over the pair. Electricity crackled menacingly in his palm as he turned to Sonic, ready to finish his most hated enemy once and for all.

* * *

Dr Eggman watched the fighting from his control room, his heart beating a hole in his chest. Despite the fact that he knew Sonic and Shadow could hold off Metal until their 'help' arrived, he was feeling strangely nervous. He stared as Shadow picked up a girder and began wrapping it around his creation's skull, starting to believe that maybe Sonic had been right; maybe they could beat Metal on their own. Sonic then brought the robot to his knees with a spin attack, which in turn brought the scientist's jaw down.

"_What?_" he spluttered, his hands crashing down on the console in front of him. "That's... that's not possible!" And yet it was happening. Metal Sonic, who was in his Overlord form and was empowered by the Master Emerald, had been brought to his knees. What was perhaps the most powerful being on the planet had been brought down by a girder and a spinning hyperactive hedgehog. It was absurd! With the Master Emerald's power, the robot should have been annihilating the pair, and it was on its knees! That was not possible unless...

Eggman chuckled sinisterly. Perhaps Metal Sonic was not quite as powerful as he had initially believed. From what he could gather, Knuckles had shattered his precious gem before Metal could absorb a substantial amount of its energies. That would therefore mean that the so-called Overlord only had a limited source of power, and if Sonic and Shadow kept pushing, they might just force him to use it up.

And then, from nowhere, an electrical current blasted through the ship. "Wha-!" Eggman reeled back from his consoles as they spluttered and sparked, overloading with the unknown current. Luckily for the rotund scientist, his black jumpsuit was lined with a rubber compound, for comfort if nothing else, which protected him from the deadly surge. And then, as soon as it had come, it was gone. Eggman glanced around desperately for its source, and spotted Metal Sonic with his hand pressed to the ground. That explained it; the robot had sent his lightning attack into the ship's deck, and since pretty much everything on the ship was made of metal, it had affected everything.

However, the Doctor was nothing if not resourceful. He reached out and touched the damaged sections of his console, and thousands of tiny nanobots cascaded from his sleeve with a mission to repair them. While they worked, Eggman found a working console and checked the ship's status. Weapons: offline, Engines: thankfully online, Eggbots: offline. "Arrgh!" Eggman cried as he pounded the console with a large fist. Without those Eggbots, he only had one robot to get the Master Emerald from the grubby hands of the Guardian. Well, technically he had two, but he needed one of them here, especially now that his two would-be protectors were smouldering in a heap on the ground. He wasn't even sure if they were still alive.

No matter. The Doctor checked the status of his last remaining mechas, and discovered, to his relief, that they were both ready. Being a newer model the second robot had charged significantly faster than the first, and was ready to send to Angel Island. However, as the rotund scientist reached out to push the launch button, he hesitated. Would one robot really be enough to get the Master Emerald? More importantly, would one robot be enough to hold off Metal? He thought for a moment, and then released the robots. One would be enough for each task.

He happened to glance out of the shattered window in front of him, and saw Metal holding Sonic off his feet by the throat. From nowhere, an ear-shattering scream echoed throughout the ship. It took the Doctor a moment to realise it was Sonic. The hedgehog thrashed in the robot's grip, electricity piercing every fibre of his body. Eggman's eyes widened behind his glasses. Metal was killing the hedgehog! Granted, the scientist had tried to do the same thing on more than one occasion, but this time he needed the rodent alive. He checked the progress of his robot frantically. It was almost at the deck. Suddenly, a thought struck the Doctor. He leaned over to the working console and pushed another switch, opening a channel to the approaching mecha.

"SS-02, do you read me?" he asked quickly.

"Yes Doctor."

"I want you to detour to..." he consulted the ship's readouts again, checking the damaged sections, "RV-008. Take twenty rings from the vault and deliver them to the organics on deck, then continue with your original assignment, understood?"

"Yes Doctor. Modifying mission... modification complete. Executing."

* * *

Metal Sonic watched his helpless enemy squirm in his grasp. Sonic was beaten, and what made the situation all the better was that he knew it. Electricity was sent coursing through him in indeterminate servings, almost melting his resilient skin. Metal could surmise that the only reason the organic had survived for so long was his repeated exposures to the Chaos Emeralds; they must have mutated his physiology somewhat, making him tougher. However, he couldn't last forever, and they both knew it.

From nowhere there was a blast to Metal's back. The blast was pitiful, having no effect other than to create smoke around the robot. With a murderous glow in his crimson eyes, Metal Sonic turned to face his would-be attacker. Shadow the hedgehog had managed to lift himself to one knee, and had his still crackling palm held out towards his adversary. If he could, Metal would have chuckled. Did this organic truly believe he could do anything to hurt him? He raised the hand he wasn't using to fry Sonic and pointed a single finger at the black-furred hedgehog. A razor-thin blast of power shot out form its tip, throwing the hedgehog backwards across the deck. As Shadow tumbled away, Metal turned his attention back to finally destroying his most hated enemy.

"And so it ends," he said, his deep voice sending fear rattling through Sonic's body. His grip tightened around the hedgehog's throat, poised to snap it at a moment's notice.

His proximity sensors suddenly went into overdrive. Tossing Sonic away like a ragdoll, he span, saw the incoming missiles, and blasted off to the side. The missiles followed briefly, but Metal dispatched them with unnerving ease. He looked over at the source of the missiles, and was momentarily surprised. "You..."

Silver Sonic II stood not ten metres away, his chrome body gleaming in the afternoon sun. His appearance was eerily similar to Metal's own base form, but as his name implied, he was coloured a light grey, appearing to be silver. His eyes, a yellow and black grid, were focused unwaveringly on Metal Sonic, and his hand was raised, revealing his fingertip missile launchers. His other hand clutched a bunch of glowing golden rings, some of which he seemed to have dropped next to the sprawled body of Shadow. Silver lowered his hand and started walking towards Metal, casually tossing the rest of the rings to Sonic as he approached.

Metal Sonic allowed himself a robotic grunt. This was the best his creator could muster against him? An outdated model he had floated next to in a stasis tube for nearly six months while the fat Doctor researched ancient echidnean tablets? No, there had to be something more to this robot, something Metal would not expect. Or so Metal's artificial ego told him; he was more like Sonic than either of them wanted to admit. But it was irrelevant; if Silver Sonic got in his way, he would destroy it swiftly and mercilessly. He readied himself to fight.

Sonic's right eye opened instinctually. His vision was blurred, and every inch of his body ached. His burnt flesh stuck to the cold metal beneath him, and even the tiniest movement hurt. His distorted vision locked itself to something in front of him; something golden, something sacred, something _miraculous_.

_Rings... I need rings..._

He agonisingly lifted a hand from the ground as a loud noise erupted next to him, and began dragging himself along the steel. With every tiny movement, flesh was torn away, forcing the hedgehog to cry out and stop. He steeled himself, however, and inched his way forward again. Just a few inches...

Shadow strode past the blue hedgehog, fully invigorated by the rings Silver Sonic had thrown at him. He barely spared a thought for his blue rival as he made his way towards the robotic melee, his mind focused on the imminent battle he was about to enter. He slowed briefly, however, and glanced back at Sonic.

_Perhaps... perhaps I should help him..._

_No. He is strong, and helping him would only show weakness on your part. Defeat Metal Sonic, and continue with your mission._

He had been able to reach the rings; the blue hedgehog should be able to as well. Although... he was superior to Sonic, so perhaps he wouldn't be capable of getting them after all. He stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder. Sonic was inching towards the rings agonisingly slowly, a sharp contrast to his usual hyperactive self. The hedgehog didn't even seem to be aware of his surroundings, or that Shadow was watching him. He was fixed on the rings in front of him like a drug addict looking at his next fix.

_Pathetic... I guess he does need help after all. At this rate, it could take days for him to be of any use to me._

He turned and took a few paces over to the crawling hedgehog, casually kicked the rings at him, and then walked away again. As he headed towards the two duelling robots, there was a loud cry from behind him.

"Aw yeah peeps, the cool blue one is back!"

Shadow didn't flinch as the ungrateful fool sped past in a blur, and instead activated his jet shoes, launching himself into the brawl right along with him.

Silver Sonic II ducked under a deadly lightning blast, and returned with a volley of missiles from his fingertips. Metal Sonic lithely flipped over them and landed in front of his metallic brethren, and before the silver robot could react, he swept his feet away with a low kick, and then followed up with a straight punch to the gut, sending Silver Sonic clattering across the deck. Metal was about to pursue him, but he was forced to sidestep a sudden spin attack.

"Miss me?" Sonic bounced out of his spin and shot off, a mocking grin plastered across his face. Metal glowered after him, and sent a blast of lightning his way. Sonic was moving far too fast to be hit, having already covered at least half the ship, and was now preparing another high-impact spin, just like the one that brought him to his knees earlier. Metal activated his jets, ready to blast off and intercept his adversary, when Shadow suddenly blasted out of a green flash to his left. The black hedgehog curled into a spin attack as he flew, but Metal's reactions were far too fast. He plucked the hedgehog from midair and slammed him into the ground, and again, before pulling back and launching him at the advancing Silver Sonic.

The silver robot swatted the dazed hedgehog out of the air as he got close, seemingly forgetting that they were on the same side. He activated jets in the soles of his feet and blasted towards Metal, just as Sonic began his approach from the other end of the ship. Metal let out a synthetic growl and raised both his palms, firing a rapid volley of thin electrical beams at his opponents. The swiftness of the energy blasts caught Silver Sonic off guard and sent him reeling, but Sonic's reflexes eclipsed those of the robot, and he managed to dodge every blast sent at him, before curling into his spin. Metal, however, was prepared for this and stepped forward, ready to catch Sonic just as he had caught Shadow. Sonic, showing his unexpected tactical skills, had anticipated this and uncurled at the last moment, planted his hands on Metal's outstretched arm, and launched himself directly upwards. The doppelganger took a moment to correct himself and look up, but that was all the time Sonic needed to curl back into a spin and crash straight down into his enemy's face.

Metal reeled back as Sonic bounced away, and his damage report system told him that his proximity sensors were damaged. Nothing serious, but he would have to be careful from now on. Perhaps it was time to stop playing and end this. He raised a hand to unleash another lightning attack at Sonic, who was grinning his infuriating grin, and finish him for good. Sonic's grin widened and he jerked his thumb to the side, as though warning Metal of something. He was not about to fall for that. He was one of the most intelligent beings on the plan-

The missiles exploded against his face, sending him crashing to ground. Sonic watched on smugly, and glanced to his side as Shadow strode up to him. "Goin' well, eh Shad?"

"Not well enough. I want to end this, and I want to end it _now._"

Sonic's serious face returned, and he set his sights back on the recovering robot. "Yeah, you're probably right. Yo, Silver!" he shouted.

Silver Sonic II looked over at him, and even though he didn't have any facial features, the programmed hatred was radiating from him like heat from the sun.

"Look pal, we've had our differences, and no doubt you want my head on a platter," Sonic reasoned, "But whaddaya say we get Metal out the way first? Then we can finish what we started in the Death Egg, okay?"

Silver Sonic didn't answer, and turned his pupil-less gaze back to Metal. He raised a hand and fired another volley of missiles, and then charged forward to finish the job.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Sonic muttered, "Come on Shad. Let's do this."

He looked round, but Shadow was no longer there. Turning back, he saw the black hedgehog bouncing around Metal Sonic, firing off chaos spears and using his spin attack whenever Metal was distracted. Sonic shrugged, and then charged forward.

* * *

This was wrong. He should not be losing. He was the Overlord, the ruler of all! Why was he losing? Why! Metal Sonic became enraged at his helplessness, and lashed out like a wild beast at anything he could reach. His three opponents surrounded him, no matter how many times he warped away, and they each took turns in striking. When Shadow tried to attack, Metal repelled him, but that let both Sonic and Silver Sonic rush in and strike. He tried to activate his Black Shield, but it was non-functional. One of his opponents must have damaged its projection unit, damn it!

He warped away again, and before his opponents could follow, he unleashed his lightning attack. Forks of energy crashed onto the deck, and the three hedgehogs approaching only just managed to dodge. Metal felt empowered once again. He would destroy them all, and he would do it now. He tapped into the now dwindling reservoir of chaos energy within him, and let loose with a needle-like flurry of blasts. His opponents couldn't dodge such a large scale, tightly-knit attack, and were sent to the ground, where they belonged. Metal lowered himself back to the deck and strode over to the triad of injured figures, ready to finish them for good. He raised his hand again, training his focus on Sonic first, and let loose the lethal blast.

Only... he didn't. The blast didn't come. Energy crackled and fizzed in his palm, but there was no blast. No deadly streak of light to impale the organic lying before him, no electricity, no nothing. Metal Sonic was confused for a second, until he realised that his reserves were empty. His chaos energy was gone; used up by the needle-storm of electricity he'd just used. But that would mean-

His Overlord form shimmered for a moment, before it dissolved completely into a viscous mercury-like liquid. When he reformed, he was back in his basic state; no extra quills, no extra armour, and no fluttering black cape. Now he was back to being just plain old Metal Sonic. He stared down at his hands in surprise for a moment, before he realised that it was irrelevant. His opponents were all stunned and on the ground, and Eggman certainly wouldn't pose a threat on his own, so there was no cause for alarm. However, he still had to finish his enemies, just to be sure. Sonic would die first.

Metal kneeled down next to the dazed hedgehog and lifted his hand, his razor-sharp claws gleaming in the sunlight. He thrust his hand down, aiming to pierce his rival's chest and rip out his still beating heart, but he was halted mid-descent. He looked up to see Shadow holding his forearm, and there was the tiniest of smirks on the black hedgehog's face. He believed he was now more powerful than the robot. He believed he had Metal Sonic beaten.

The robot activated his jet engine, and with Shadow still holding on, corkscrewed furiously in midair, sending Shadow hurtling away. 'Ultimate Lifeform' indeed. He turned back to Sonic, and was surprised to see him rise to his feet. Well, that just wasn't good enough. Metal hurtled forward, crashing into Sonic and thrusting his head down against the deck. Sonic screamed as the metal ground acted as sandpaper against his head, scraping away his fur and scalp as Metal continued onwards, heading for the edge of the ship. He had just thought of a much more fitting end for the hedgehog.

The pair blasted out over the side of the ship, and Metal clutched Sonic by the throat, dangling him over the water far below. Sonic looked down in terror as he realised what was about to happen, and began struggling and kicking against the robot's grip furiously. Metal was being damaged, but he ignored it and savoured the moment. Sonic was notoriously unable to swim, so what was more of a fitting end for him than drowning?

Metal knew he was beaten. With an almost sad certainty he knew he'd be recaptured; even he couldn't stand up to both Shadow _and_ Silver Sonic II. Not together anyway, and not in this form. But, he would finish Sonic the Hedgehog before that happened. He would not deny himself this final pleasure before the Doctor found a way to erase his mind and make him a slave again.

He ignored Sonic's pointless attempts to escape, and rocketed downwards. It was time to end this. He would have his hand wrapped around the hedgehog's throat as his last breath escaped him, so he could watch Sonic experience his two greatest fears as he died. He would finally prove himself superior.

He would finally prove that _he _was the true Sonic.

* * *

_**Yet another fight, and Eggman's revealed his hand. If you're reading this and haven't guessed who's being sent to Angel Island... well, shame on you.**_

_**Thanks for reading, and the standard disclaimer still applies.**_


	6. Sonics Abound

_**First things first: for anyone who's actually reading and enjoying this, I'm sorry that I don't update very often. I won't lie and say that I'll update more often from now on, but it might be a bit faster. Why? Because I have an ending in mind now! I know where I have to go with this story! Which always helps.**_

_**Anyways, read and hopefully enjoy, and the disclaimer from the first chapter still applies.  
**_

* * *

Rouge watched the approaching craft carefully, studying its gargantuan mass for any signs of movement. There were two things she was looking for, and so far she hadn't seen either. This created mixed feelings within the bat's ample chest. On one hand, she was worried that she couldn't see any sign of Shadow, but on the other hand she was relieved that there was no sign of any attackers. She had been expecting the Doctor to launch some kind of offensive, but there seemed to be nothing.

Next to her, Knuckles was having the same thoughts. The island and the ship were growing closer and closer, and pretty soon the land mass was going to sail directly beneath the craft and continue past the coastline out onto the ocean. This unnerved Knuckles. The island usually moved at a constant, unwavering pace, and less than an hour ago it had been plodding over the centre of the Southern Federation. There was no doubt in his mind that it had somehow picked up pace.

A thought suddenly struck him. He glanced over his shoulder at the glistening gem on the shrine. Could this burst of speed be its doing? He knew that Chaos and Tikal both resided inside the huge crystal, and deep down he also knew that they were the true guardians of Angel Island. Could they be manipulating the Master Emerald's power to escape Eggman?

"What is he waiting for?"

Knuckles glanced over at Rouge, but couldn't think of an answer for her. A shame really. He'd have liked to put her at ease.

"Enemy incoming."

Knuckles, Rouge, Tails and Amy all immediately looked at G-mel. The yellow and black robot stood stock still, his head lifted to the ship that was almost directly above them. The rest of the group followed his gaze, but upon first glance, could see nothing.

"Are you sure G-mel?" Tails asked. "I can't see a thing..."

"There is no doubt Miles."

The auburn fox again looked upwards. There was still nothing to be seen...

"Wait... What's that?" He pointed at something, and the others looked up to see a tiny blue dot dropping from the belly of the ship, its azure gleam contrasting brilliantly with the black steel of the hull. It fell like a boulder, and Tails calculated that it would crash into the island within seconds.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed at the object, "Sonic, it's me! I've come to save you!"

Knuckles turned to Rouge and grimaced. She returned the sentiment, and glanced again at the rapidly falling object. "If she's right, and that really is Sonic, then he's about to become nothing more than a blue stain..." she muttered.

Knuckles knew that she was right and immediately rushed forward to catch his falling rival, Tails hot on his heels. Without having to say a word, Knuckles already knew the young fox's plan and scooped him up mid-stride, before pulling back and launching him at the plummeting object. Tails tucked up into a rapid spin, cutting through the air as he bore down on his idol. Uncurling at the last moment, he grabbed the Sonic's forearm and began whirling his namesakes, meaning to slow the hedgehog's descent and carry him to safety.

Only, things didn't quite go as planned. Sonic was much heavier than the young fox was expecting, and he was unable to stop his fall as they both rocketed to the grass below.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted over the wind, "Try curling... up?"

On the ground below, Knuckles watched in horror as Sonic dealt a glancing blow to the young fox's chin and sent him careening off into the air, before curling into a tight ball and slamming into the ground, sending a wave of mud in all directions. Amy was knocked off her feet by the mighty shock, while Knuckles was merely staggered. Rouge, however, was unaffected as she was already busy intercepting the falling Tails. She grabbed him in her arms as he fell and gently descended back down to the island.

"You okay fox-boy?" she asked, checking him over.

"I'm... I'm fine," he replied uncertainly. He still believed that it was Sonic that had been falling, Rouge observed. She, on the other hand, thought otherwise.

Knuckles, again, shared her thoughts. He watched in horror as the blue creature extracted itself from the ground and stood to its full height, easily towering above the rest of them. Standing at least five feet tall, with devilishly sharp claws and a plethora of azure spines arcing from the back of its head, Mecha Sonic observed its enemies. The single neon red light of its eye moved from side to side in the blackness of its lens as it cast its glance across the group before him.

"You..." Knuckles gasped, "How... I destroyed you myself!"

"You've seen this thing before?" Rouge asked, staring at the menacing blue monstrosity.

"Yeah... the first time Eggman tried to take the Master Emerald he sent this thing to steal it. It was this blasted machine that destroyed the Sky Sanctuary!"

"I think Sonic and I ran into it as well," Tails mused, now recovered from his fall.

"Looks pretty scary," Amy said, wide-eyed, "But I think we can- ugh!"

Mecha Sonic cut her sentence short by blasting forward and sinking his fist into her gut, sending her soaring across the clearing with blood spurting from her mouth. Tails rushed towards her as she landed heavily, while Knuckles, Rouge and G-mel prepared to defend themselves. They knew that Tails could tend to Amy, and that they'd just get in the way.

"Whatever you do, don't let it near the Master Emerald!" Knuckles shouted, "This thing can go super if it touches it!"

Rouge turned to him in horror. "Super?! You can't be serious!" His silence told her all she needed to know. "That's just great..."

G-mel ignored the conversation. He picked out the vital points and stored them for later reference, but for now he was focused on the robot that had harmed one of Cream's closest friends. For her sake, he had to make sure that the machine paid for its actions. He activated the jet on his back and sped towards Mecha Sonic, which responded by crouching down, activating a set of tiny high-power wheels on its feet, and rocketing forward. Just as G-mel prepared to strike, Mecha curled into a tight ball and began ripping up grass, ready to cleave its adversary in two. G-mel only just managed to swerve upwards and avoid the attack, but he immediately recovered and threw two forearm-launched missiles from his at his would-be attacker.

Mecha Sonic avoided the missiles with ease, his spinning form blasting from the ground into the air before crashing back down and bouncing in a long arc towards Rouge and Knuckles. The two scattered as the buzzsaw-like attack ripped into the earth, and rushed over to regroup with G-mel. Mecha Sonic stopped spinning and stood up, reminiscent of arrival, and turned to face his opponents.

Tails watched the battle from the corner of his eye as he tended to Amy, who kept assuring him that she was fine.

"Amy, you might have internal bleeding!" he exclaimed, checking her over, "You can't go and fight that thing in your state!"

"Rubbish," she grunted as she stood up, brushing him off, "Just caught me off guard, that's all. And I'm _fine_ Tails, stop worrying."

"Amy, I-" He stopped very quickly when Amy pulled her huge Piko-Piko hammer from seemingly nowhere, and brandished the near-lethal weapon in his face.

"_I'm fine_, Tails, now come on, we've got a fake Sonic to smash!"

Mecha Sonic observed the pink hedgehog with what could be approximated to nonchalance as she ran wildly towards it. The robot had already prioritised the organic known as "Knuckles" and the robot known as "G-mel" as the most high-risk targets. The others would be relatively easy to crush, if those two were removed. It came as a surprise, therefore, when a single mighty strike from Amy's Piko-Piko hammer sent the Sonic copy crashing to the ground. It dug a trench in the mud as it slid backwards, while Amy looked on proudly.

"Ha! Take that you fake Sonic!"

Mecha Sonic didn't bother to stand up this time; it simply curled into a deadly spin and launched itself at the pink hedgehog, who squealed and dove out of the way, just barely avoiding the razor-sharp spines. A pair of missiles exploded on Mecha Sonic's spinning armour, but the robot didn't even slow down and simply ploughed through the blasts towards G-mel, who again barely dodged, blasting into the air as Knuckles and Rouge dove to the side. However, Mecha Sonic had anticipated G-mel's evasion, and halted, before rocketing straight upwards, still spinning. This time G-mel didn't get the chance to dodge and received a hideous slash directly up the centre of his body, while Mecha Sonic uncurled above him and delivered a jarring kick, sending G-mel crashing to the ground below.

"G-mel! No!" Tails rushed over to the downed robot, while Knuckles and Rouge immediately went on the offensive. Mecha landed casually, and before it could evade, Knuckles rushed in and struck a glancing uppercut on its jaw, staggering it, giving Rouge the opportunity to deliver a flurry of kicks across its head and body. On the verge of toppling, Mecha Sonic was unable to defend itself as Knuckles performed a mighty straight punch into its gut, sending it crashing backwards across the grass.

Turning G-mel over in his arms, Tails realised that the damage was mostly superficial. Some of his internal workings had been damaged, and one of his three horn-like protrusions had been sliced off, but he could be repaired, if Tails got him to his lab. For the moment though, there was nothing he could do.

"Miles..." G-mel sputtered, his systems starting to shut down, "Will I see Cream again?"

"Yes, G-mel, you will," Tails murmured, "I promise. But for now, you should go into offline mode and conserve your energy. You might need it to play with Cream later, okay?"

"Affirmative. Thank you Miles." G-mel's normally pulsating blue eyes faded to a deep black as he shut down, and his limbs went limp in Tails' arms. The young fox growled angrily and stood to face Mecha Sonic with the others, pushing a button on his wristwatch and materialising a bright red cannon around his forearm.

He moved forward and stood in line with Rouge, Knuckles and the now-recovered Amy, ready to finish the monstrous blue robot that had risen back to its feet. Mecha Sonic seemed to ready itself for a moment, before it blasted forward at full speed towards the four.

* * *

Shadow was becoming annoyed.

Somehow, Metal Sonic had bested him at every opportunity, and it was beginning to grate on his pride. He was supposed to be the Ultimate Lifeform! And yet here he was, again lying on his back thanks to an outnumbered, outgunned metal copy that, by rights, should have been defeated as soon as his chaos energy ran out. Shadow had had enough.

Flipping backwards onto his feet, he saw Metal Sonic blast over the side of the ship, with the blue hedgehog locked firmly in his grasp. Shadow sneered. For all that he was supposed to be the world's greatest hero, Sonic was proving himself to be increasingly useless as this conflict wore on. Of course, this only served to confirm what Shadow had always suspected; he was superior to the blue hedgehog, both mentally and physically. And once again, he was going to have to prove it.

Activating his jet shoes, Shadow shot off towards Metal Sonic, who suddenly descended out of view, taking Sonic with him. Shadow clutched his chaos emerald tightly as he followed the robot and leapt from the ship, ready to teleport away if necessary. He fell towards the pair of blue creatures below him, but his own momentum couldn't keep up with the power of Metal Sonic's jet engine, forcing him to activate chaos control and warp directly downwards.

Metal Sonic was caught off-guard as Shadow blasted out of a green flash below him, curling into a ball and letting the robot's own momentum drive him into the spin attack. Metal crashed into the spinning hedgehog at a ridiculous pace, and both the attacker and the attacked were sent bouncing off into space. Metal's hand loosened just long enough for Sonic to plant his feet on the robot's chest and kick away.

"Shadow!" he screamed wildly, all too aware of the watery grave that he was still plummeting towards. Shadow, who was also still falling, composed himself and disappeared in a flash of green light. He immediately materialised next to Sonic, grabbed him, and disappeared again. Metal Sonic watched in loathing as he activated his engine, knowing full well that his adversary had escaped him once again.

Feelings that he wasn't supposed to have coursed through his mind, blinding him to the only logical course of action; a tactical retreat. Only defeat lay on the ship's deck above him, but he no longer cared. All he wanted, the only goal left to him now that he had been denied the pleasure of destroying his creator, was to wrap his claws around the throat of Sonic the Hedgehog and squeeze until he struggled no more. His jet engine roared to life as he shot up towards the ship.

And then, to his right, he noticed Angel Island. Inspiration struck. If he could, he would have smirked. It would seem that the battle was still winnable after all. Changing course, Metal Sonic now blasted towards the approaching land mass, ready to once again gain the power to destroy his nemesis.

Up on the deck of the Egg Carrier III, Sonic was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He had just experienced what could be described as a panic attack, and he was desperately trying to slow his rapid heartbeat. Shadow pitilessly watched on, before turning and walking towards the edge of the ship. His sharply honed battle instincts told him that Metal Sonic would soon return, even if the robot knew that it would be suicide to do so. To his left, Silver Sonic II had risen to its feet, and had wirelessly linked itself to the ship's sensors, calmly searching for its rogue brethren.

Sonic stood up, his breathing slowing to normal, and turned to face Shadow.

"Hey... uh... Shadow..." he said uncomfortably, "Thanks... for the save. I appreciate it."

Shadow merely grunted in response, and turned to Silver Sonic. Relieved, Sonic did the same, and noticed that it seemed to be in deep concentration.

"Enemy detected." Suddenly, its head snapped up and it turned towards the aft of the ship, before activating its jets and rocketing away. Shadow shot Sonic a meaningful glance, and set off to follow the robot. Sonic got the drift, and did the same.

As it neared the front of the craft, Silver Sonic drastically swerved to the side and leapt from the ship into the space beyond. Shadow followed without hesitation, while Sonic slowed to a halt and looked over the edge, mindful of his recent experience. What he saw surprised him. Perhaps a quarter of a mile below him, Angel Island was gently floating by. Shaking his head in disbelief, Sonic glanced to the side and realised why his comrades had leapt to the island below. Metal Sonic had just reached the boundary of the island and was now cutting through the dense forests of the Mushroom Hill Zone. Directly below, Sonic could just make out what looked like his friends surrounding the Master Emerald shrine. They seemed to be fighting something...

Not wasting another second, Sonic fearlessly leapt out into the void, curling into a tight ball to lessen the eventual impact.

* * *

The ancient stonework of the Master Emerald shrine crumpled as Mecha Sonic was sent cascading into it, followed closely by the irate form of Knuckles the Echidna. The guardian's fist became a blur as he sank punch after punch into the machine's gut and drove it even further into the stone. Just before Mecha Sonic could gather itself and retaliate, Knuckles leapt away giving Tails the opportunity to launch a fizzling ball of energy from his arm cannon, which threw the rising robot back against the stone again. Knuckles again leapt forward, this time joined by Rouge and Amy, and the three began pounding away at the machine's seemingly impenetrable armour.

"Yeah!" Tails exclaimed, "We've got it! We've- argh!"

The young fox was interrupted by a cold silver hand appearing on his shoulder, which proceeded to bodily lift him from the ground and toss him away. Mecha Sonic's attackers briefly let up their assault and span to face the source of their friend's distress; a gleaming silver robot reminiscent of Metal Sonic's base form, which stared at them with grid-like yellow eyes.

"You know this thing too?" Rouge asked her red-furred comrade.

Knuckles shook his head silently; he had no idea who this robot was, but he knew it had to have been created by Eggman, which meant there was no doubt it was dangerous. He growled and started towards it, but he almost immediately realised his blunder and span around again to face Mecha Sonic. Unfortunately, he didn't react fast enough to stop the robot's foot crashing into face and sending him tumbling across the clearing, closely followed by Rouge and Amy.

Mecha Sonic and Silver Sonic II shared a silent greeting, wirelessly updated each other on their respective statuses, and turned to face their new enemies as a team. Rouge was on her feet first, having used her wings to soften her impact, and was greeted by the roaring of jets and a cold hand wrapping itself her throat. Her eyes went wide and her feet kicked desperately at her blue assailant as she was lifted off the ground.

"I... Knuckles..." she gasped.

Knuckles glanced up from his grounded position and saw Mecha Sonic with its hand wrapped around Rouge's slender throat, and immediately exploded upwards and launched himself at her assailant. Long before he could reach her, however, Silver Sonic stepped in his way and punched him back into the dirt. He skidded backwards from the blow, and was left helpless to save Rouge.

"Damn... you..." Rouge spluttered, her breath quickly running out. Just before she blacked out, however, her powerful ears picked up a faint whistling sound from overhead. Mecha Sonic looked up at the source, which had alerted its proximity sensors, but was too late to stop the spinning black hedgehog from slamming into the top of its head. The ground below the robot sank slightly under the impact, and it released its captive as it was thrown backwards across the clearing. Shadow bounced away and landed calmly, stopping briefly to take stock of his surroundings.

The fox-boy, the guardian and the irritating pink hedgehog lay in a heap not far from him, an unknown yellow and black robot lay in a heap behind him, Rouge was on her knees massaging her throat and shooting him a thankful glance, and Silver Sonic was advancing on him menacingly. It would appear that their alliance was over. Shadow growled and was about to step into battle with the machine, when a blue blur impacted its skull with the force of a small meteor, sending it cascading across the ground, coming to rest at the edge of the stone shrine. Sonic pinged away from the impact, bounced once on the grass, and landed gracefully next to Shadow.

"Not bad, eh?" he said with a wide grin.

Shadow grunted.

"Sonic!" The blue hedgehog looked over and saw his auburn-furred friend rising shakily to his feet. He grinned, and Sonic shot over to greet him, the two jumping up and down happily when reunited. Shadow was not interested in such frivolities. He quickly checked on the status of the two robots, and upon seeing that they both appeared to be offline he strolled over to Rouge, who had gotten to her feet and stood to greet him.

"Good to see you," she said, still massaging her neck. Shadow noted that the robot's claws seemed to have cut her, but only slightly, so he had no reason to worry for her.

"Likewise," he said gruffly. "Metal Sonic will be here within the minute. We'll need to ally ourselves with the blue hedgehog to defeat him."

"A lady never gets a moment's peace, does she?" Rouge muttered. "Alright, we'd better warn them."

"No need; the blue hedgehog will have already done so. We just need to be prepared to fight." He glanced at her briefly, before turning his gaze back to the forest. "Are you ready to fight?"

Rouge smirked at him; that was the closest Shadow was going to get to asking if she was okay. "I'm fine. Let's do this."

Shadow nodded, and together the pair walked forward to join Sonic and his friends. They all seemed to be recovered, and were all more than ready to fight.

"You okay, bat-girl?" Knuckles asked as they got close. Rouge smirked again. These boys and their attempts to be macho... it always amused her.

"I'm fine darling, how about you? You're not looking too good."

"I... what?" Knuckles spluttered, "I'm fine!"

"If you say so..."

Sonic grinned like loon at the conversation, but upon hearing a series of cracks in the forest before him his face became a mask of seriousness. He heard what sounded like a jet engine or two from somewhere nearby, and put it down to Metal's above average propulsion system.

"Get ready guys..." he warned. Shadow sneered at the hedgehog's attempt to take charge, but annoyingly it seemed to have worked; everyone besides himself and Rouge lowered themselves into a more battle-ready position. Shadow and Rouge didn't need to; they were already prepared.

A series of rumbles emanated from the forest. Without warning, the foliage in front of them exploded in a plume of flame and the chilling figure of Metal Sonic burst forth. The air intake valve on his chest smoked slightly as he sped towards them, revealing that he had used its plasma cannon function to blast apart the trees. Before he could reach the team, however, he seemed to realise something and deactivated his engine, skidding to a halt on the grass. He seemed to be staring over their shoulders, and everyone present could feel the rage radiating from his crimson eyes.

"No..." the machine growled robotically, "That emerald is mine!"

Knuckles realised what he was implying and turned round. His eyes widened in horror.

"No!" he screamed, and took off in a wild sprint for the Master Emerald shrine, where Mecha Sonic and Silver Sonic were busy removing his charge from its place. There was a wild roar to his right and he turned to see Metal Sonic blasting alongside him, before overtaking and sending mud showering into his face. Sonic wasn't far behind the robot, and the three arrived at the shrine just too late to prevent the two robots from lifting the huge gem and blasting off into the sky.

"No!" Knuckles screamed again, leaping to the top of the stone plinth and launching himself into the sky after the two robots, desperately grabbing at their heels. He fell short, allowing Metal Sonic to blaze past in his own attempt to retrieve the gem, but he was cut down by a yellow blast of energy and crashed back down onto the shrine. Sonic span round to see Shadow with his palm raised, residual energy crackling around his body. Metal Sonic blasted back onto is feet and tried again for the emerald, but was again cut down by a chaos spear.

The two fleeing robots looked down to see that Knuckles was picking up a curled Sonic, ready to launch him after them, and saw Shadow preparing to use chaos control, and realised that they wouldn't escape with the emerald without some kind of distraction. They wordlessly made a decision.

Below, Knuckles threw Sonic upwards with all his strength, sending his sometime rival hurtling towards the robotic thieves. The others watched in horror as Sonic disappeared in a flash of golden light emanating from the fleeing robots, before he crashed back down onto the now-empty shrine. High above, Silver Sonic was carrying the emerald alone, escaping to its master's ship while his brother descended back down to the island, ready to destroy its remaining enemies.

"Oh no..." Knuckles murmured, "Noooooo!!! My emerald!"

"Hey Knux..." Sonic muttered, picking himself up, "I don't think that's our biggest problem right now..."

Mecha Sonic touched down gracefully on the grass surrounding the shrine. Even the tiny green blades shied away from its newfound power. It's now glittering body shimmered a bright gold, and a light aura surrounded it, crackling with raw chaos energy.

Mecha Sonic had gone super.


	7. Golden Menace

_**Right then, you might remember that I said in the last chapter that I might upload faster? Yeah... that's not gonna happen. Basically, I've got exams and stuff to study for, so if you're looking for the next chapter then it might not be up until June, or maybe even the end of June.**_

_**So yeah. By the way, I jump around between characters quite a lot in this chapter, and it's the first time I've really done that extensively. As such (you know what's coming) opinions are appreciated.  
**_

_**Anyway, on with the story!**_

_**Standard disclaimer still applies.  
**_

* * *

Sonic just barely leapt out of the way as an energy ball slammed into the ground where he had been standing moments ago. Within a second of his foot touching the ground he was sprinting away, putting as much distance between himself and his attacker as possible. Mecha Sonic had become little more than a golden blur as it shot to and fro across the clearing, launching energy balls and explosive rings left right and centre. Without warning it changed course and ploughed downwards into the grass, where it began spinning furiously towards Rouge. The bat attempted to leap over the spinning robot, but it was only thanks to the intervention of Shadow that she avoided being ripped apart.

Re-materialising on the opposite side of the clearing from the emerald-fuelled mechanoid, Rouge and Shadow evaluated the situation. They, along with Sonic and his friends, were fighting against a robot that would have been difficult to beat at the best of times, but it had used the Master Emerald to power up into its super form and had the team rapidly approaching their last legs. Metal Sonic's loyalties in the conflict remained ambiguous; if Mecha Sonic made to attack him he'd fight back, but otherwise he seemed determined to put Sonic down for good.

"Shadow..." Rouge panted, "How do we beat this thing?"

Shadow shook his head, and grimly said, "We can't. All we can do is wait until its chaos energy runs out and it returns to its normal form." He observed as Knuckles grabbed Amy by the wrist and yanked her out of Mecha Sonic's path, before sprinting around the shrine to regroup with Sonic and Tails. "However, I'm not sure we can last that long. Even if we can, I doubt that this island will stay afloat long enough to let us take advantage."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"Move!" Shadow grabbed Rouge by the wrist again and ignited his jet-skates, shooting off before he was incinerated by one of Mecha Sonic's energy balls. Looking up, he noticed that the robot had its hands on its hips and its head thrown back; almost as though it was laughing at them.

Atop the now-empty shrine, Metal Sonic watched the battle detachedly, carefully calculating his next move. He had already lost the Master Emerald a second time, and he refused to lose his right to take Sonic's life to his super-powered brethren. Glancing down at his rival, he saw that he seemed to be discussing a plan with his comrades. The fox nodded at an unheard sentence and started running for his craft, which stood in its walker mode a short way in front of Metal Sonic's perch. His proximity sensors suddenly went wild, and he dissolved into a mercurial substance just as a barrage of explosive rings slammed into the shrine.

Knuckles looked up in horror as his charge's former resting place was blown apart. A snarl snaked its way onto his face and his namesakes clenched tightly as he watched the one responsible come to a halt above himself and the others. The robot appeared to be laughing; taunting him. He tensed himself and prepared to lunge, but a gloved hand on his shoulder stopped him. Rouge gave him a meaningful glance, before taking her hand away and running off to distract their attacker's attention. It worked, and Mecha Sonic followed her, leaving Knuckles to fume at the invincible robot.

Meanwhile, Tails climbed into the cockpit of his craft and, pausing only to let Amy clamber in with the limp form of G-mel in her arms, ignited the jets on the base of his machine's feet and lifted off. Quickly changing the Cyclone back into plane mode, he shot off in a wide circle around the battleground, attempting to gain a missile lock-on on Mecha Sonic. His target was constantly on the move, however; it disappeared sporadically, before blurring into existence somewhere else in the clearing, attacking, and then disappearing again. The young fox fumed and continued circling; using careful bursts of the Cyclone's mounted vulcan cannon to draw Mecha Sonic's attention from his friends.

Sonic bounded through the smoke rising from the remains of the shrine and tried to score a high-impact spin attack, but was intercepted by another spin attack before he could reach his target. Rolling along the ground as he landed, he quickly regained his bearings and leapt out of the way as Metal Sonic charged towards him.

"Come on Metal!" he shouted, "Couldn't this grudge of yours wait 'till we've taken care of golden boy up there?!"

Metal Sonic didn't even grace him with an answer; he simply ignited his engine again and blasted towards Sonic, curling into a spin attack and simultaneously activating his black shield. Sonic growled and leapt over the attack, corkscrewing in midair to land facing his opponent, before launching a spin attack of his own. He crashed into his doppelganger's back just as his shield deactivated, and sent him sprawling to the ground. Before metal could get up, Sonic rushed forward and aimed a hefty kick at the robot's midsection, aiming to put some distance between them. Metal's clawed hand closed around his ankle as he got close, however, and he found himself launched across the clearing to impact with one of the surrounding trees.

Metal Sonic rose to his feet and made to pursue his rival, but before he could the ground in front of him exploded and he was sent crashing backwards into the mud. Mecha Sonic curled into a deadly ball above him, before crashing down into the spot where its brethren had lain moments before liquefying again. Reassigning its primary target to the nearest enemy, Mecha Sonic activated its own jet engine and blasted towards the recovering form of Sonic.

Before it could reach him, however, Shadow burst from a green flash and grabbed the top of the robot's head, before disappearing again, taking Mecha Sonic with him. Sonic recovered his senses just quick enough to see this, and just quick enough to dodge the incoming fist of Metal Sonic, which crashed through the trunk of the tree he had been thrown against.

Not bothering with a witty remark, Sonic kicked Metal's temporarily stuck body where his gut would have been, before following up by jumping into the air and spinning down into the doppelganger's head. Metal crashed to the ground as Sonic bounded away to regroup with Knuckles and Rouge, who watched from the remains of the shrine.

"You guys okay?" he asked as he reached them.

"What do you think?" Knuckles snapped bitterly, before Rouge could answer, "I've lost the one thing I'm sworn to protect, my island is being destroyed around me, and on top of that, we're going to crash any minute!"

Sonic dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "You lose the emerald all the time, Knux, don't worry about it. We'll get it back."

"And how are we going to do that? I don't know where Shadow and that thing went, but I can guarantee that it'll be back any minute to finish the job. How can I possibly get to Eggman and fight it off at the same time?"

Sonic opened his mouth to reply, but was forced to join his two comrades in leaping out of the way of a laser blast, which sliced through the rubble of the demolished shrine. Metal Sonic's air intake valve smoked slightly as he advanced on the trio, an almost demonic gleam in his artificial eyes. The three picked themselves up just before Metal reached them, but before the robot could strike it received a powerful blow to the side of the head and was sent sprawling. Shadow rebounded from the strike and landed gracefully, turning to face his comrades.

"Nice one Shad!" Sonic exclaimed, giving his dark companion a thumbs up. Shadow sneered and turned to Rouge, the blue hedgehog's praise not even registering with him.

"I teleported the other robot out into the middle of the ocean; we have some time to come up with a plan."

"How about we come up with a way to get me onto Eggman's ship?" Knuckles cut in, interrupting Rouge before she could reply again.

"I could teleport you to the Doctor's vessel, but I may need all the power I have to combat Mecha Sonic."

"Why not get the fox-boy to get you up there?" Rouge said evenly.

"Yeah!" Sonic chimed, "Hold on; I'll go talk to him." He disappeared in a cloud of dust, and when the group next caught sight of him he was sprinting up a tree and jumped from the top elegantly onto the wing of the passing Cyclone. A few seconds of discussion followed, after which he hopped back down, landing right in front of his waiting friends.

"Right, Tails reckons it's probably best if we all pay Eggman a visit, seeing as this island's about to drop into the ocean and all."

Shadow glanced at Rouge, who gave him a very slight, almost unnoticeable nod, and he brought out his emerald again.

"Stand close," he told them, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Metal Sonic watched on as the four disappeared in a green flash. Quickly realising where they must be going, he turned and punched one of the remaining pieces of rubble with enough force to launch it across the clearing. Now, not only did he have to deal with Sonic and his friends, he'd have to go up against his creator, who was by now in possession of the Master Emerald. On top of that, his super-powered brethren would arrive any minute to defend its master, and it would no doubt try and destroy him as well.

A rumble from the earth beneath him prompted him into action. As the island began to drop towards the ocean below, Metal Sonic activated his jet engine and blasted into the sky, tailing the fox's plane to his former master's craft.

* * *

Dr Eggman couldn't be happier. For what seemed like the first time in years, his robots had actually accomplished what they had set out to do. Mere minutes ago Silver Sonic II had arrived on-board with the Master Emerald, and it's near limitless power had since been installed in the ship's engine room, bringing all of the craft's systems back on line. The damage from Metal Sonic's power surge had been mostly repaired, and he was just preparing to make his escape when he saw a bright green flash on the aft deck. Eggman sneered; it would appear Sonic and his friends weren't quite done yet. The echidna in particular looked angry.

He barely noticed his sensors telling him that Angel Island was dropping towards the ocean as he tapped commands into his consoles. Bringing all cannons back online and activating the Shadow Android legions, Eggman pulled a small microphone towards him and issued his only warning.

"Sonic, I would advise you and your friends to get off my ship immediately! If you don't, then my cannons will tear you to shreds!"

Down on the deck, Sonic yawned. Same old Eggman; all talk, nothing to back it up. It came as a surprise, then, when an array of nearby cannons took aim at the four and opened fire. A barrage of lasers, bullets and missiles pelted the deck mere seconds after Shadow warped them out of the way. Instinctively splitting up to lessen the size of the target, the group began running towards the control tower.

Sonic jumped as three cannons on either side of him exploded. Looking up, he grinned widely upon seeing the Cyclone swoop down low and launch another missile barrage. The cobalt hedgehog poured on the speed and blasted forwards, eager to reach Eggman and stop him before any of his defences got lucky and score a hit on his friend's small craft. He was almost at the tower, mere seconds away at his extreme pace, when he tripped and was sent sprawling across the metallic ground.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Sonic saw the case of his fall advance menacingly, crimson eyes glowing with unmatched malice. Metal Sonic wasted no time in activating his jet engine and shooting towards his rival, who immediately put Eggman out of his mind and charged towards his doppelganger. The two curled into spin attacks simultaneously and crashed together with the force of two wrecking balls colliding, sending a wave of sound hurtling across the ship.

Shadow and Rouge advanced together, dodging turret fire and rapidly approaching Eggman's refuge. Shadow noticed the Cyclone overhead just as he launched a chaos spear at a particularly bothersome turret, blowing it to pieces and littering the deck with scrap metal. He signalled for Rouge to advance, and was about to advance himself, when without warning the deck in front of him exploded. A silver ball blasted from the wreckage into the air, soaring in a wide arc before uncurling and landing on its feet mere metres from the GUN agents. The black and yellow grid of its eyes locked onto Shadow and Rouge as it looked up, and its forearms opened into a pair of rapid missile launchers.

Not waiting for it to make the first move, Shadow charged towards Silver Sonic and delivered a crushing kick to its already weak head, where Sonic had impacted it back on Angel Island. The robot reeled slightly, giving Rouge the chance to rush in and deliver a flurry of kicks, surgically weakening the robot before it recovered and went on the offense. Silver Sonic suddenly grabbed her leg, its grip as tight as a vice, and launched her into Shadow, sending the pair crashing backwards along the deck. Silver Sonic quickly recovered from its assault and raised its arms, launching a barrage of missiles at its downed opponents.

On the other side of the ship, Knuckles was gradually making his way to the tower. Finally reaching its base, he found a door and punched his way inside, sending the thick piece of metal crashing into the corridor beyond. He wasted no time in dashing through the complex, searching for any sign of Eggman, and more importantly, his emerald. Finding nothing on the ground floor, he began searching for an elevator to ascend to the upper floors, where Eggman would hopefully be, ready for a good beating.

By now his island had to have crashed, and just thinking about it filled the crimson echidna with rage. The master Emerald was his charge, his one duty, and Eggman had, not for the first time, stolen it from him. He could remember years ago, when he first met the crazed scientist, he had actually trusted the madman. The human's claims that Sonic and Tails were emerald thieves made perfect sense to him, and he had become the scientist's willing agent. That all changed when Eggman stole his charge to fuel his space station, the Death Egg, however, and ever since he had been fighting against the Doctor.

Finding an elevator, he stepped inside and found a button marked "CR"; which, presumably, stood for Control Room. Knuckles pressed this switch and stood back as the metal box began ascending, cracking his knuckles violently. Eggman was about to get what had been coming for a long time.

* * *

The Cyclone's engines roared as it ducked and swerved out of the path of incoming projectiles. Tails' face was furrowed into a frown, and his tongue stuck out in concentration. One slip-up, one tiny miscalculation, and he'd be blown to pieces. Amy, sat behind the auburn-furred fox, understood the situation perfectly and forced herself to stay silent. She cradled the limp body of G-mel in her arms, and just looking at the injured robot filled her with dread. What if Tails couldn't repair him? The mechanoid brought such happiness to her best friend, Cream, and she just couldn't bear to see that sweet, innocent face show anything other than a cheerful smile.

Tails pulled the craft into a tight barrel-roll, dodging and simultaneously launching a barrage of missiles. He had destroyed at least half of the aft deck's cannons by now, and it was taking less and less effort to dodge incoming attacks. That was only a good thing, as it allowed him to check on his friends. Glancing over the rim of the cockpit, the young fox scanned the ship and quickly saw them; to his horror, Sonic was engaged in a fierce battle with Metal Sonic, their battle destroying entire sections of the deck as they clashed. Shadow and Rouge were fighting the updated Silver Sonic, and Knuckles was nowhere to be found. Tails could only hope that meant he'd made it into the Control Tower.

"Um... Tails?" Amy said hesitantly.

"Sorry Amy, I'm a bit busy right now!" Tails cried, avoiding a pulse of vulcan fire.

"No, you really need to look at this!"

Tails dispatched the cannons that were firing at him and brought the craft around to face where Amy was looking. His face quickly switched from determined to frightened, and then slowly back again. A golden speck was churning through the air towards them, slicing clouds in two as it approached. It had to be Mecha Sonic.

Mecha Sonic streaked towards the control room, where its master had just sent a distress signal from. Apparently the master was under immediate threat. Ignoring all else, the chaos-fuelled robot reached the ship and, barely missing the retreating Cyclone, blasted forth to protect the master.

The Doctor stood, hands clasped behind his back, facing the elevator. He had detected Knuckles' approach the moment he entered the tower, and as soon as the echidna entered the elevator he had sent for Mecha Sonic. It wouldn't have been difficult to escape; other than the main elevator, there was the hidden elevator he had used earlier to travel down to his lab and release his approaching saviour, as well as the teleportation platform in the corner of the room. However, Eggman wanted to meet Knuckles face-to-face; perhaps to simply annoy him, or, if possible, dissuade him from further conflict.

The metal doors opened, and Knuckles stepped forward. His face was the very epitome of rage as he advanced, and that barely changed as Mecha Sonic flew through the remains of the room's shattered window, landing between him and Eggman. If anything, his face only darkened further.

"Still hiding behind robots Eggman?" he spat, halting his advance.

"Hardly hiding, echidna; it's just that, unlike you, I know when to step back and let someone else do the work."

"You're a coward!" Knuckles shouted suddenly, "Now where's my emerald!"

"You don't actually expect me to answer that, do you?"

The crimson-furred echidna lost his temper prematurely and, losing his sense of rational judgement, lunged at the still-glowing robot between him and his enemy. Unsurprisingly, he was swatted aside like a fly, crashing into the wall of the room with a mighty crunch.

"Knuckles my boy..." Eggman said, his tone mocking, "You really should just call it a day."

"I'm not leaving without my emerald!" Knuckles sprang to his feet and ran at the Doctor, catching him by surprise but not moving fast enough to dodge the golden fist of Mecha Sonic. The blow landed hard across his chin, launching him into the air and straight out of the open window, falling to the deck below. Eggman watched on almost pityingly, before turning to his creation and giving the order he should have given as soon as it arrived.

"Get them off my ship. I don't care how you do it, just get it done. Try not to kill them, but do what you need to."

Mecha Sonic nodded and activated its jets, rising into the air and blasting out of the window after its prey.

* * *

A row of turrets was sheared in half as Sonic dodged his enemy's plasma laser, before he launched forward into a straight punch, cracking Metal Sonic's jaw with enough force to stagger him. He recovered immediately, and grabbed the hedgehog's leg as he attempted a low spinning kick, picking him up and tossing him into the air. Unable to get his bearings, Sonic was helpless as Metal blasted upwards and sank his fist into his gut. The blow both winded him and sent him spinning even higher, before the punch was followed up with a rib-crushing axe kick.

Sonic slammed into the metal deck, just as Knuckles managed to right himself and flip into a clumsy glide. The echidna dropped out of the air and slammed onto the top of one of the few remaining turrets just as Mecha Sonic sliced the air he had just occupied and blasted into the distance. Knuckles watched on in horror as the golden robot's flight took it directly into the path of the Cyclone, and without even slowing down tore through the craft's wing.

Tails wrenched with the controls as his plane lurched to one side, desperately trying to keep it in the air. Amy's screams went unnoticed as he realised that there was no way to keep the craft in the air, and prepared himself for a crash landing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sonic continuing his fight with Metal Sonic, and an idea suddenly struck.

"Amy!" he shouted over the rushing wind, "When I say now, jump!"

"What?!"

"Trust me! You'll be helping Sonic!"

"Well... if it's for Sonic, then okay!"

The young fox nodded and violently wrenched the plane to the side, falling rapidly towards the two blue combatants. Deliberately aiming for the pair of cobalt hedgehogs, he licked his lips and stood up slightly in the cockpit, ready to leap from his craft. Sonic, who had just been slammed onto the deck again, looked up just in time to see the Cyclone slam into the deck and skid towards him.

"NOW!" Tails leapt from the cockpit, followed closely by Amy and the still-limp G-mel. He grabbed the pink hedgehog under the armpits and began whirling his namesakes rapidly, slowing their fall and coming to a gentle stop on the deck. To his right, Sonic put his weight on his hands and thrust his legs out behind him, mule-kicking the approaching Metal Sonic and using his frame to launch himself into the air. He curled into a tiny ball, just barely passing over the skidding plane, and landed in a clumsy roll.

Ripping up sparks from the rapidly shredding deck, the plane tore on towards Metal Sonic. Tails couldn't see exactly what happened, but it appeared as though the robot was crushed by the plane and slammed into the wall of the control tower. Fuel ignited inside the plane, thanks to sparks from the colliding metal, and without warning the whole thing exploded in a mighty plume of flame. Amy dropped G-mel and rushed over to Sonic, who was shakily rising to his feet, and grabbed him tightly around the waist.

"Sonic!" she cried, "Are you okay? Oh my poor, poor Sonic..."

"Geroff," Sonic moaned, pushing her away, "I'm fine. Metal's the one not getting up any time soon."

"Oh, you were so brave!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Tails, meanwhile, looked over G-mel. The robot seemed to be fine, but until he got him back to the lab there was nothing that could be done for him. Standing up, he was greeted by an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Sonic grinned widely, before stepping forward and ruffling his young friend's hair playfully.

"Nice idea with the plane, buddy. But you know, I had Metal right where I wanted him..."

"No problem Sonic," Tails replied with a grin, "D'you think Metal's finally gone?"

"Course he is! There's no way he's gettin' out of that mess." Sonic jabbed his thumb at the huge hole in the side of the tower, which had been filled to the brim with flames and metallic debris. The fox nodded happily, before his smile faded and he pointed over Sonic's shoulder, his mouth drawn into a tight grimace. His friend turned his head quickly, and quickly grabbed Tails and leapt out of the way of Mecha Sonic's dive. Amy squealed, but managed to retain her wits and dashed over to G-mel, scooping him up and running off to find cover.

Sonic pushed Tails away as they landed, getting his friend as far away from the golden mechanoid as possible. Rolling onto his back, he was greeted by a metallic claw which wrapped itself around his neck and hoisted him into the air. Mecha Sonic's single visual sensor bore into Sonic's emerald eyes, and for the second time that day, Sonic found himself terrified by a doppelganger of himself. This robot could rip him apart at a moment's notice.

Then, without warning, a purple laser slammed into the golden robot, staggering it enough to drop Sonic. The hedgehog sank to his knees, and just as Tails reached him to try and pull him away from his attacker, Metal Sonic blasted forward, dodged through his brethren's barrage of energy balls and grabbing it by the throat.

"The hedgehog is mine," he snarled. "CHAOS CONTROL!" And, using Mecha Sonic's own chaos energies, he disappeared in a bright green flash, taking Sonic and Tails with him.

Knuckles slammed fist-first into the spot where Mecha Sonic had been moments before, aiming to crush the robot's skull. Amy watched on with horror as he began sinking punch after punch into the deck, cursing his lateness, and realised that her two best friends had just been whisked away to some unknown place with two of their most dangerous enemies.

Sonic and Tails were gone, Shadow and Rouge were nowhere to be seen, and she and Knuckles were trapped on Eggman's ship with no real way to escape. And there was a very good possibility that Silver Sonic II was still out there somewhere.

_Sonic... what should I do?_


End file.
